


birds fly in different directions

by nygmadaydreams



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: 1990s, Alternate Universe, Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Developing Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Platonic Relationships, Slow Burn, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-05-20 09:29:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19373941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nygmadaydreams/pseuds/nygmadaydreams
Summary: Middle schoolers teetered the fine line between adolescence and childhood - they possessed no childlike wonder and tore each other into shreds, it was like a playground of chaos and prepubescent swearing.The first time Oswald Cobblepot laid eyes on Edward Nashton, a goofy-looking boy with glasses way too big for his narrow face, he could notstandhim. Why was this boy he'd never met suddenly so interested in him, anyway?This is the story, or a collection of memories, of how they grew up together all the way from Grade 6 to 12.





	1. two lives, one life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [missymisery](https://archiveofourown.org/users/missymisery/gifts).



> first of all, big thank you to missymisery on ao3 for brainstorming this fic with me! she is actually going to write a sequel to this once i finish this fic, and i'm so excited for this collab thingie we're doing <3 she's also a great artist, check out @mis.march on instagram!!
> 
> this is the first fic i've actually outlined quite properly so updates should be kinda frequent? at least i hope so haha  
> comments and kudos would be much appreciated! the first chapter is a little short, but it was more of an introduction to the world :) enjoy!

_ 1992, September 1st _

The school bus was loud and reeking of sweat, filled to the brim with chatting preteens. Safety regulations were something that Gotham Middle School clearly didn’t care about since there was maybe 40 seats in the vehicle and at least 50 people crammed inside. Oswald tried to adjust his headphones so they’d block out all the obnoxious screams and the sound of the motor, but to no avail. A bigger student sat beside him, squishing his smaller frame against the dirty window. The boy paid little to no attention to him and chatting with his friends on the other side of the seats. The 11-year-old sighed and brushed the blonde bangs from his face, leaning his cheek on his palm. He hadn’t even gotten to school yet and he already hated it. For a lot of kids it was probably exciting to start middle school—but Oswald? No sir.

The bus screeched when it came to a halt in front of the school gates. The loud kids started busting through the opened doors, eager to be the first to run through the open gates. Oswald was one of the last children to exit the vehicle, sulking behind his hair. He lingered around the gates, observing the schoolyard. It wasn’t nearly as exciting as the elementary school’s colourful playground filled with swings and monkey bars—instead, there were just some benches haphazardly thrown around the yard, a basketball hoop and a depressing grey pavement. Oswald frowned.

He got a little startled when he heard a brake on the pavement behind him, screeching loudly. He eyed the car suspiciously, secretly glaring at the driver who could have ridden over him if he had been paying a little less attention. The back door of the car opened and out stepped a lanky boy with pristinely styled wavy hair. As soon as the door swung open, a loud male voice trailed out of the vehicle. Oswald eavesdropped and could hear the man, presumably the boy’s father, ramble on about the lunchbox and “if you get your clothes dirty you’ll wear them for the rest of the week, boy”. All the kid did was awkwardly stand on the pavement, nodding with small yesses.

He grabbed his backpack from the backseat and slammed the door close, visibly sighing in relief as he watched the car pull off the pavement and drive away. The boy turned around and noticed Oswald staring at him. The brunette gave him a crooked smile, exposing braces with bright green bands. Oswald didn’t return the smile, instead rushing through the gates and leaving the boy alone.

His lonesome didn’t last long, but not for the lack of trying. As soon as he arrived in his designated classroom, he found out that the nerdy-looking boy from earlier was in the same class as him. Not only that, but their seats were right next to each other. The boy looked thrilled to sit next to him, smiling the same goofy smile as before, but Oswald just slumped against his desk and frowned. He’d already expected the inevitable “get to know your class” game, but it didn’t make it any less painful. Oswald barely listened to any of his classmates (who the hell cares if some Sofia girl liked horse riding?), but he did straighten his back a little when he heard a familiar name come out of their teacher’s mouth.

“Oswald... Ka—how do you say that?” she stuttered on his last name. Oswald rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“Just Cobblepot, okay,” he muttered.

“Got it,” the teacher said, scribbling something into the list of names. “And what would you like to tell about yourself, Oswald?”

“I dunno.”

“Well surely there’s something you can say!” He hated how enthusiastic the woman sounded. “Do you have any hobbies? Do you have siblings, pets? Go on!”

Oswald felt his ears burning up a little. He knew everyone was staring at him. “I don’t have hobbies or siblings or pets,” he mumbled, messing around with his bangs again. “I guess if I could, I’d get a dog.”

“There we go,” the teacher said with the fakest smile ever and clapped her hands a couple times like Oswald had just said something incredibly intellectually stimulating. “And next to Oswald we have... Edward Nashton, right?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the brunette perked up, pushing up his glasses a bit. “You can also call me Ed. I like reading and solving puzzles, and I’ve got a pet lizard! No siblings, though. My favorite color is green and my favorite pastime activity is examining the bone structure of various animals under my microscope. My grandparents actually bought me a new one for Christmas last year and it’s really cool, you can really get all up in the crevices—“

Oswald stared at Edward in disbelief. Had this kid planned a whole speech for this moment? He didn’t even seem to be done, excitedly babbling on about anything that came into his head. Oswald side-eyed their teacher who looked just as dumbfounded as the rest of the class. Oswald heard a scoff behind him and turned to look at another boy who was doing to universal finger-next to-head-crazy symbol, nodding towards Ed. Oswald couldn’t help but agree silently.

“Wow, that sounds great, Edward!” the teacher finally interrupted the boy’s monologue with a pitiful smile. “You sure are a talkative one, aren’t you?”

Edward, mouth still agape like he wanted to keep going, blushed and shut his mouth. “So people have said,” he muttered, causing a few students snicker around them. Edward’s head fell and he lowered his red face sheepishly. Oswald shook his head a little and turned away.

If Oswald had thought Edward was annoying on the first day, it only got worse throughout the week. The kid seemed absolutely oblivious to the fact that normal people had personal space and boundaries. Oswald tried to stay as far away from him as possible at all times, but it was difficult since they were desk buddies in class. There was one good thing about Ed, though, and it was the fact that he let Oswald copy all of his notes without even asking. He always just left them on his desk with a small smile before leaving for lunch.

Speaking of lunch, their first proper interaction happened on the second school week during lunch. Oswald sat alone in a corner table, doodling in his sketchbook, when he got the uncomfortable feeling that he was being watched. He raised his head and, unsurprisingly, there was Edward, looking at him with a wide smile and carrying a plastic tray with a juice box and some fruit. Oswald looked at him, deadpan, before opening his mouth.

“What do you want?” he asked bluntly, dropping his pencil with a furrow of his brows. Edward didn’t look phased by the cold welcome and sat down at the other side of the table before even asking for permission.

“You looked lonely so I thought I could join you,” he explained, starting to fiddle with his juice box.

“I’m not lonely, just alone. That’s a different thing,” Oswald said and took an angry bite of his chocolate candy bar.

“What are you drawing?” Ed ignored what he had just said and grabbed the sketchbook from the table before Oswald could answer. Oswald immediately tried to snatch it back, almost making his capri sun fall over, but Edward’s arms were longer than his and there was the table in-between them, so it was an useless attempt.

“Give it back!” he demanded, shaking his stubby arms in the air.

“You’re really good!”

“What?”

“You’re such a good artist!” Edward said with a smile, flipping through the pages. “These are great! You shouldn’t hide them.”

“Give. It. Back,” Oswald growled as well as an 11-year-old could, still holding out his hand. He didn’t sound quite as demanding with the prominent blush on his round cheeks, though. Edward finally obeyed and handed the book back. Oswald put it firmly into his backpack and zipped it shut. He glared at Edward sourly.

“Do you not have anything else to eat?” Edward asked after observing Oswald’s chocolate bar. Oswald shrugged and took a sip of his capri sun.

“We didn’t have anything at home,” he said. “So mum just threw a couple of bars in and promised I’d get something yummy at dinner.”

“Here,” Ed said and handed him an apple. “Fruits have a lot more nutrition and vitamins than chocolate. Plus, they’re yummy too.” He emphasized the statement by grabbing the watermelon piece on his tray and taking a big bite. Hesitantly, Oswald accepted the apple. He wasn’t really a fan of fruit, but he wasn’t one to turn down food. Ed looked happy that Oswald took it and kept munching on his watermelon with a smile. Oswald wondered if Ed ever stopped smiling, and then he realized he could just simply ask.

“Why are you always like that?” he questioned.

“Like what?” Ed’s happy expression turned into a confused one and he tilted his head like a little puppy.

“Like, all cheery or whatever,” Oswald said and gestured at Edward’s face with the apple. “Are you just always happy? Or are you faking?”

Edward thought for a moment. “It takes more muscles to frown than to smile, and it’s more inviting.” Of course the nerd would go with a scientific response. Ed’s company annoyed him more and more by the second.

“Trust me, it’s not,” Oswald snapped at him. “It’s annoying and creepy.” He stood up before Edward could respond and threw the half-eaten apple on Ed’s tray. He scooped the candy bar wrapper into a nearby trash can and picked up his backpack.

“I don’t wanna eat with you. Bye.” With that, he left Edward alone at the table and stomped away in irritation. He couldn’t see, but for once Ed’s smile did fade as the brunette watched him march out of the room.


	2. changin' the seasons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for the warm welcome on this fic! <3 i'm having such a blast writing it

_ 1993, October 22nd _

“Oswald? Oswald!”

Oswald wasn’t sure how many times his name had been called when he finally blinked blearily, waking from his untimely nap. It took the boy a moment to even realize where he was, but when he came back to the present and lifted his mushed cheek from the desk, he was startled by Edward Nashton’s face only an inch away from his own. He jumped upwards and nearly fell off his chair, looking around frantically. He was still in class and had apparently fallen asleep in the middle of the lecture. Their chemistry teacher, Mr. Williams, was staring at him with a frustrated expression while the majority of their classmates were just whispering or giggling at the way Oswald had jolted up.

“Too close,” Oswald muttered, barely audible, and pushed back Edward who was still right in front of his face. The brunette shrugged and looked at the teacher.

“Now that Mr. Cobblepot has returned to our company, would someone like to repeat what I just said?” Mr. Williams asked, looking around the class in irritation.

“You told us about the group project and assigned us our pairs for the assignment!” Edward said immediately. He sat on the edge of his seat like the discussion was the most exciting thing he’d experienced in his life. Mr. Williams nodded and looked at Oswald in disapproval.

“You’re lucky, because Nashton agreed to be your partner, Cobblepot,” he said, making Ed beam. Oswald groaned in agony and glanced at the boy next to him. The first year of middle school hadn’t exactly made their relationship any warmer. Ed was still the nerdiest guy Oswald had ever met, and he kept pestering the blonde with stupid questions and riddles despite Oswald saying he didn’t care. Someone could have found this type of behaviour almost endearing – meanwhile, the 12-year-old Oswald Cobblepot just thought it was creepy.

“Don’t you start nagging, boy. Your other option was Galavan and she said she’d rather work alone than be with you. So mouth: shut.” Mr. Williams turned his back on the class, implying that the conversation was over, and started writing homework on the chalkboard. Oswald glanced over at Tabitha Galavan, sitting one desk over, who was busy doodling hearts into her notebook with glittery gel pens. He decided Ed was better than Tabitha – the girl looked like he would beat Oswald up if he even said hi to her. Oswald sighed and cracked his sore neck. Luckily it seemed he had managed to sleep through most of the class. Ed was especially unbearable in chemistry, because it was one of his favourite subjects—not that he disliked any subject, really, considering Ed’s almost sick obsession with everything academic.

The bell rang, indicating the end of the school day, and students started immediately packing up and leaving the classroom, despite Mr. Williams trying to shout something about the assignment over the crosstalk. Oswald threw his backpack on his shoulder and started making his way out, but to his disappointment he wasn’t fast enough, and Edward tagged along with him.

“I was thinking we could go to the library right now and start the project! I already outlined the basic concept while you were asleep and I think the sooner we start the assignment, the better,” Edward babbled, shaking a notebook in front of Oswald’s face.

“What?” he cried out. “It’s  _ Friday _ ! No one does homework on the weekend.”

“I do,” Ed said, sounding genuinely confused for a second. “It needs to be ready next Friday, and I have piano lessons on Monday and Wednesday so the weekend would be the optimal time for our liaison.”

“I don’t even know what that means,” Oswald said, frowning at the big words. Edward Nashton, more like Encyclopedia Nashton...

“It means: please let’s go to the library together and get this done.”

“What am I gonna gain from it?” Oswald asked. Ed looked at him, dumbfounded.

“...A good grade?” he suggested, fidgeting with his messy notebook. “Besides, Mr. Williams will pick his personal favorite project and it will be presented at the Annual Science Fair in November! There are all kinds of prices, like food and money and clothes.”

“Now you’re talkin’ my language,” Oswald said, finally paying attention to what Edward was talking about. They had stopped at their lockers, that were coincidentally only one locker apart from each other, and Ed started emptying his locker into his backpack. Oswald didn’t understand how any 12-year-old read as much as Ed did, but maybe it explained their intellectual difference. Not that Oswald was dumb, they were just smart in different ways. “What were you thinking, then?”

“I want to make one of those classic erupting volcanoes you see in movies,” Edward said immediately. He straightened his lanky form and presented the notebook to Oswald once again. Oswald took a proper look at it for the first time. Ed really was going all in on this thing. He had about three pages of notes with ingredients and even drawings to guide the reader along. They weren’t great drawings, but Oswald got the picture.

“You did all this in one class?” Oswald asked, slightly in awe, as he handed the notebook back to the taller boy. Ed smiled and nodded, ruffling his curly hair. “Wow,” Oswald uttered. He was not giving Ed enough credit for his work, it seemed.

“So... will you come with me?” Ed asked, tilting his head pleadingly. “Pretty please. It will be fun, I promise.”

“I...,” Oswald looked at Ed, and then the floor, biting his bottom lip. Finally, he sighed and shrugged in surrender. “Okay. I’ll come.” It was like Christmas had come early for Edward, because he squealed and grabbed Oswald’s upper arm, clearly ready to hug the boy. Oswald pulled back, yelping.

“No! We’re gonna finish the project, that’s it!” he mumbled, writhing away from Ed’s grip. He already turned around and started hurrying down the nearly empty corridor, assuming Edward would follow him. And of course the brunette did, still giggling giddily.

The library was situated right across the street from the school, which was convenient for Oswald who hated walking. He found out that especially with Ed walking was agonizing, because Edward’s legs were so much longer and faster than his. They spend about an hour in the library, and to Oswald’s surprise things were actually looking a little bit brighter. Ed was a good partner, because he was smart and diligent, and also worked really fast. Secretly, Oswald was starting to feel a little bit bad, because Ed was doing a vast majority of the work, but that wasn’t something he would ever reveal to a living soul.

At around four o’clock Edward raised his nose from a book when he heard a loud growl coming from Oswald’s stomach. Oswald, who had gone into a slump and was doodling in his notebook instead of doing any research, looked up too and put down his pencil. “I’m hungry,” he declared as if it wasn’t obvious.

“I can see that,” Ed said and giggled. “Or more like hear. I guess we could stop for today?”

“Um,” Oswald mumbled when Ed started to stand up. Oswald’s cheeks flushed slightly when Ed looked at him expectedly, and he averted his gaze, staring firmly into his pencil case while busying himself with tidying up. “If you wanna keep going, we can continue at my place...?”

Edward stared at him for a second and Oswald regretted making the suggestion, but then Ed’s face lit up and he smiled the widest of smiles, bright enough to outshine the sun. The light above the table made his braces look more blue than green. “I would love that so much!” Ed said excitedly and threw the books he’d borrowed into his backpack.

Oswald let out a breath he hadn’t noticed to be holding. “Okay. Cool.” He also stood up and brushed the eraser dust off his pants. “My mom said she’d make goulash tonight. You can eat, too.”

Oswald’s family lived in a small suburban area a couple blocks away from the school. He lived alone with his mother, and they weren’t the richest of people, but they managed to afford a small house, which was enough for the two of them. As soon as they got off the bus in front of the house, Edward started curiously observing the outer decor and the road.

“Your house is nice,” he said, but Oswald felt like it was just a compliment for the sake of it. He had already figured out Edward’s family was much wealthier than his own, and they lived in a really nice house in a rich area. Ed’s dad was a CEO of a company or something. Oswald got his keys out of the backpack – Ed also complimented his Mario keychain – and unlocked the door.

“I’m home!” he yelled while kicking his shoes off in the hallway. Ed situated his shoes and jacket neatly in their designated places while Oswald just threw his coat on the floor, picked up his backpack and marched into the kitchen, gesturing Ed to follow him. The brunette did so without questions asked and observed everything from the fuzzy carpet to the framed photos of Oswald and his mom on the walls.

“Mom, this is-“

“Oh my goodness!” Oswald’s sentence was interrupted by a woman, around in her mid-40s, lunging towards to doorframe as soon as the boys walked into the kitchen and to her sight. Oswald’s mom was quite the peculiar woman, with the wild curls falling down her back like a waterfall all the way down to her hips and the strong perfume she used. Edward smiled at her awkwardly as she stared at him with glee. “You bring a friend,  _ Liebchen _ ?”

Oswald blushed. “Um. Yeah, something like that,” he muttered so quietly his mom couldn’t hear. “This is Ed. He’s a classmate.”

“Hello, Mrs. Kapelput,” Ed said and turned his smile into a more genuine one as he raised his hand towards the woman. Oswald furrowed his brows upon hearing the way Edward addressed her; Oswald only ever used ‘ _ Cobblepot _ ’ at school, so how had Ed figured out their real family name was Kapelput? He gritted his teeth as he watched his mom happily shake Ed’s hand.

“Oswald does not have much friends. You’re the first friend he brings home from school,” she said with a blissful smile after introducing herself as Gertrud. Edward laughed shyly and looked at Oswald who had already sunken into the chair at the small dinner table and was observing the other two with a deep blush on his cheeks.

“Mom! Shut up, Ed’s just a classmate and we gotta finish a stupid project!” he shouted and grabbed a fork angrily in his fist. His mother shooed Ed out of the kitchen to get a seat next to Oswald, blabbering on something about the food being ready. Edward didn’t complain as he sat down next to the other boy, his mouth already watering from the smell of whatever was cooking in the pot.

Oswald devoured his food in record time, barely saying a word to his mother as he was busy shovelling goulash down his throat. Ed ate a bit more politely, but he had a hard time restricting himself to a singular plate of food because frankly, Gertrud Kapelput was an amazing cook. After dinner was over, Oswald told Ed to go wait in his room while he cleaned up with his mom. Ed thought it was sweet how tough Oswald acted while still helping his mother with the dishes and everything. Ed entered Oswald’s small bedroom and looked around curiously. The wallpaper was old and chipped, but most of his walls were covered with posters of various singers and comic characters. Ed was happy to realize they both liked Superman and also the Mario franchise, although he had already figured out the latter by Oswald’s keychain.

Ed was sitting on the floor, surrounded by the books he’d pulled from his backpack as well as his and Oswald’s chemistry notebooks, when Oswald finally walked in the room and slammed the door closed. He threw a chocolate chip cookie at Ed, who managed to catch it despite the surprise. Oswald sat on the floor and munched on his own cookie, looking at the mess Ed had made.

“It’s not poisoned, dummy,” he said when Ed just looked at the cookie instead of eating it. A small blush appeared on Edward’s face and he laughed nervously.

“Well, I’m actually allergic to chocolate, so...” his voice trailed off and after a moment of silence he gave the cookie back to Oswald. “You can have mine, too.” Oswald shrugged and stuck the whole cookie in his mouth, making Ed smile.

They started going through the points Edward had written down, and both of them found themselves relaxing a little in the other’s company. Oswald was surprised how easy it was to talk to Ed. Maybe it was the fact that he kept the conversation going no matter what; somehow Ed  _ always _ had something to say.

“This is the most fun I’ve ever had with a group project,” Ed said out of the blue with a huge smile on his face. He looked up from his papers at Oswald who looked dumbfounded. “I mean, usually I do all the work and people just put their names on the paper when it’s finished. In elementary school a lot of people wanted to work with me just because they knew they’d get good grades. They didn’t... actually like me or anything.” Ed’s smile faded a bit, but he lifted it back up as soon as he realized how serious he’d gotten.

“Well at least you’re smart,” Oswald said with a dry laugh. “I don’t have anything that people like about me. I’m just the dumb chubby kid.”

“That’s not true!” Ed exclaimed immediately, straightening his spine a little. He put down his pencil and looked Oswald deep in the eyes. “I’m really having a super good time! You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Oswald.” He smiled brightly, once again exposing the green-banded braces. Oswald’s eyes widened a little before he quickly looked away, red-faced.

“We aren’t friends...,” he whispered, but didn’t have the power to say it out loud. When he thought about it, why did he hate Edward that much? He’d never done anything to him. If anything, Ed had always been really kind to him...

“Thank you for inviting me here,” Ed said, unphased by the lack of enthusiasm from Oswald. “I’ve never been invited to any classmate’s house. And no one wants to come over to mine, either. So this is really special to me!”

“You’re a weirdo,” Oswald said, finally facing the boy again. Edward frowned a little but looked confused when Oswald flashed him a crooked smile. “You can come over whenever you’d like. Even, um, even after the project is done. If you wanna.”

Oswald yelped when Edward suddenly jumped up to his knees and reached over the books, giving him a bone-crushing hug. Oswald wasn’t sure if he was supposed to hug the other boy back, but Ed didn’t care either way. He looked at Oswald, eyes glimmering like stars on the night sky.

“You’re my best friend ever,” he said genuinely and squeezed Oswald’s shoulder. Ed looked so happy that Oswald couldn’t help but giggle too.

“Sure.”


	3. life will make you grow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was really excited to write this chapter so i hope you like it too!  
> tw for mild homophobia, though!!

_ 1994, December 9th _

Oswald almost choked on his lemonade when someone suddenly jumped over the bench he was sitting on and landed right next to him. The soda went up his nose and he had a small coughing fit before he recognized the intruder as Edward.

“Damn it!” Oswald yelled, swiping his face to his sleeve. “Give a warning or somethin’!”

“Sorry,” Ed said, but didn’t sound the part at all. He looked ecstatic and was positively vibrating, barely managing to stay sitting in one place.

“You got ants in your pants or something?” Oswald scoffed, sipping on his drink again.

“My parents are going on a business trip this weekend,” Edward explained at a fast pace. Oswald quirked his eyebrow. “I was thinking we could have a sleepover at my place! You’ve never been there overnight, and I think it’ll be fun!”

“Huh,” Oswald hummed, putting the bottle of lemonade away and giving Ed his full attention. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well... a few days ago the PlayStation was released in Japan. It isn’t coming to USA until September, but my father has connections and he got me the console straight from Japan. We could... try it out?” Ed grinned devilishly at Oswald’s widened eyes.

“You’re fucking with me,” he said in disbelief. Ed shook his head. “No way?!” Oswald finally freaked out and grabbed Edward by the arm, almost flinging his lemonade on the snowy ground. “You are incredible!”

“I knew you’d be interested,” Edward said smugly. “And another thing. We can try out that thing you were talking about a couple days ago...”

“Really?” Oswald asked, gasping a little. He subconsciously grabbed a fistful of his blonde locks and eyed Edward. “You think it’ll work?”

“Trust me, I have everything under control.”

“Every time you say that things go to shit, Ed.”

“This time I’m sure!” Edward laughed and punched Oswald gently on the arm. “You’re gonna love it.”

They sat next to one another on the bench and observed the other students running around the yard. Recess was the time when Ed usually did both of their homework, but mercifully enough they hadn’t gotten any that day, at least not yet, so they had nothing to do. Suddenly, a snowball flew out of nowhere and slammed right against the back of Oswald’s head. He sputtered and turned around, fuming.

“What the fuck?!” he yelled, not giving a damn if a teacher heard him cussing. Behind him, a few feet away, stood a boy with a wide grin. He had a beanie with a big tuft and a jacket probably three sizes too big. It was Victor Zsasz, a boy from their class; the class clown, pretty much.

“You two are so gay!” the bald boy shouted at Oswald. Oswald furrowed his brows and looked at Ed who had gone red on his face.

“Fuck off, Zsasz,” Oswald said and gave him the middle finger. The boy just kept on grinning and walked closer to them.

“You’re a fag, aren’t you, Oswald?” he asked and tilted his head, ogling at the other two boys with his black eyes. Oswald didn’t understand what the hell Zsasz was going on about, but he knew he was being insulted. He stood up and climbed over the bench – much less elegantly than Edward had done earlier – facing the taller boy with distaste.

“I’m gonna turn you into scrambled eggs, baldy,” Oswald said venomously. Zsasz laughed it off but looked kind of upset for some reason.

“You gotta get a kissing booth, Ozzie. Ain’t nobody wanna see you suck y’all off in the yard,” he smirked. Oswald’s face flushed redder than the cold had made it, and he looked behind him at Ed who was still sitting on the bench. Edward looked like he wanted to run away and also cry.

“You’re high,” Oswald said, turning back to Zsasz.

“Thanks! You’re low,” the boy said, gesturing at their height difference. He leaned in and in turn made Oswald step away. Zsasz made a vulgar gesture with his hand and mouth before turning around, giving a happy wave and waltzing away. Oswald stared after him in utter disbelief. He had no idea what the boy had been going on about, but he had a guess. Zsasz thought Oswald  _ liked _ Ed! Like... like liked...

He jumped a tiny bit when he noticed Ed standing right behind him. He hadn’t noticed him move, but when he did see Ed’s face, the brunette looked visibly upset and uncomfortable. Oswald put a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes.

“Don’t care about that asshole,” he said with a pout. “He’s just a dick.”

“He called you a gay and a fag,” Ed muttered, staring at the snow on his boots. “That was really mean.”

“What’s... a fag?” Oswald asked and let go of Ed.

Edward looked uneasy. “It’s, I think it’s a slur for homosexual people.”

“And that is?”

“Boys who like other boys,” Edward said, scratching his neck. “Or so I’ve heard.”

“Is gay the same thing then?” Oswald tilted his head in irritation. Edward looked uncertain but nodded. Oswald looked thoughtful for a moment, getting increasingly pissed off.

“Let’s forget about his dumb ass,” he finally suggested. “We’re friends. If he doesn’t believe, I don’t give a goddamn fuck!”

Ed still looked like he was on the verge of tears, but he closed his eyes, inhaled and exhaled, and opened his eyes again. “Okay,” he said quietly and managed a small, fairly genuine smile. Oswald returned it and pat Ed’s arm reassuringly.

After school Edward and Oswald took the bus over to Ed’s place. Oswald had only visited Ed’s home a couple of times and he was still just as surprised whenever he walked through the front door and saw just how massive the house was. Edward’s parents had already left for the airport before they’d arrived, and it made Oswald glad. He didn’t like Ed’s parents one bit; his mom was sour-looking and silent while his dad was straight-up terrifying. He looked kind of like a walrus because he had a mustache, but... like a killer walrus. How such awful people had managed to breed such a nice kid such as Ed was a mystery to Oswald.

Ed emptied the contents of his backpack on the bathroom floor; a bag of chips (extra spicy, just how he liked them), a couple of books, two cans of soda and last but most certainly not least – a package of black hair dye from the drug store. Oswald sat on top of the toilet seat and swung his short legs around.

“My mom’s gonna kill me,” he said with a grin as Ed started to fiddle with the packaging. Oswald reached on the floor and grabbed the bag of chips. Edward poured the ingredients into the applicant bottle and started shaking them together rapidly. Oswald cackled when he watched Ed work the mix.

“That looks so wrong, Ed,” he said. Ed looked confused for a moment, but then he realized what Oswald was talking about and flushed red.

“You shake it, then!” he snapped and threw the plastic bottle on Oswald’s lap. Still giggling, Oswald took it and finished shaking the ingredients together. “Your mind is too dirty.”

“Wanker,” Oswald said, giving the mixed bottle back to Ed. “Should we like cover the floor or some shit?”

“I don’t know,” Ed said and looked at the white tiling. “I don’t think dad would be too excited to have the floor looking like Cruella De Vil’s coat. So a towel it is.” He reached for a cabinet and grabbed a pair of dark blue towels, delicately placing them on the floor around the toilet.

“Okay.” Ed clasped his hands together and looked at Oswald’s mane of blond hair. “I’m like pretty sure we just need to put the dye in your hair and wait. There was a pair of plastic gloves in the package.”

“Why am I letting you do this?” Oswald asked when Ed started putting the gloves on his hands. Ed grinned manically as he finished and grabbed a comb. He started off by combing Oswald’s hair since the instructions told them to get rid of any tangles. Ed’s quiet giggling turned into full-blown howling when he gave Oswald a middle-parting.

“Wow, you’re so dapper,” Ed commented. Oswald stretched his neck to see the mirror over the sink and shrieked in agony.

“I dunno if I look five or fifty-five!”

Ed kept snickering to himself as he finished with the hairbrush and grabbed the bottle of dye. He began very carefully applying the dye in Oswald’s hair, starting with the roots as the guidelines had told him to. Oswald fed himself the chips, clearly deep in thought because he barely said anything.

“Is the regret starting to settle down?” Ed asked when he was about halfway through Oswald’s hair. Oswald looked at him in confusion for a second before he realized what Ed was referring to.

“I’m just thinking,” Oswald said, voice trailing off.

“How uncharacteristic of you,” Ed teased with a smirk. Oswald pinched him on the waist and made Ed squeal out a laugh.

“No but like, for real,” Oswald kept on. His serious tone of voice made Ed’s face stiffen up a little and he looked at Oswald’s pale eyes curiously. “I keep thinking about what Zsasz said,” Oswald admitted with a small frown.

“Don’t care about that butthole,” Ed said, “you said it yourself.”

Oswald was quiet for a moment before he bit his lip. “I don’t. Zsasz can go fuck himself. But, um, the... the whole  _ gay _ thing.”

“Mm-hmm?” Ed hummed, massaging the dye to Oswald’s nape.

“Do you think it’s a bad thing?”

Edward’s hands paused and he stared at the wall behind Oswald’s back for a second before coming up with a response. He let go of Oswald’s hair and looked thoughtful while Oswald was practically squirming on the toilet seat. “I... don’t think so? It’s just love. And I think that anyone can love who they want.” There was a pause. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, I...” Oswald attempted to come up with a reason, but his braincells were failing him. He sighed and was going to scratch his head but remembered the dye in it and dropped his hand back to his lap. “No reason, okay? I was just curious.”

Edward wasn’t convinced but dropped the subject and finished the dye job. The instructions told them that they’d have to let the dye sit for 20-30 minutes, and they spent the time setting up the PlayStation in Ed’s living room. Ed laughed at Oswald who had wrapped his head into a plastic bag and looked like an absolute moron, but the brunette silenced himself after Oswald threatened to make him eat the leftover dye.

Ed absolutely lost his mind when Oswald stepped out of the bathroom after washing the dye out of his hair. Oswald had already lost quite a bit of weight during the year, unintentionally too, and now that his hair was black he looked nearly unrecognizable. Ed hurried up from the floor and joined Oswald in the doorway, immediately sinking his hand into his damp hair and ruffling it around.

“You. Look. So! COOL!” Ed yelled ear-piercingly hard.

“I do look kinda cool,” Oswald admitted with a smug smile on his face and ran a hand through his hair. “I think it just needs a bit of cutting.”

“Now all the girls in Gotham High are gonna be allllll over you~,” Edward said and did a twirl.

Oswald’s smile faded a bit. “Listen, Ed. I, uhh, I had some thinking in the shower.”

“As one does.”

“Yeah.”

“So what did you think?” Ed asked and smiled reassuringly. Oswald wanted to run away from the situation right then and there, but something about the way how trustworthy and unjudgmental Edward looked at that moment made him want to continue.

“I thought about what Zsasz said. And then what you said. And, like, my whole damn life up until this point. And I think... I think I might not be as into girls as you are.” He frowned and looked up at Ed’s deep eyes, seeking approval or some sign that Ed wasn’t going to laugh at him.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that I might, I... I might be a little bit gay?”

Ed’s mouth created an ‘o’ shape, but after just a second it turned into a massive grin. “I  _ love _ that for you!”

“Ed, I’m serious...” Oswald mumbled with his face getting pink.

“So am I!” Edward exclaimed and grabbed Oswald’s shoulder. He smiled the signature smile of his. “I’m so happy you told me, Ozzie!”

“Really?”

“Of course. I’m super duper proud of you!”

Oswald exhaled deeply and let out a nervous laugh. Ed joined him, and after a moment their giggling turned into massive cackling. Oswald draped his arms around Ed’s shoulders and hugged him long and hard. “I was so fuckin’ scared that you’d think I’m a weird fag or something...” he whispered. He felt Ed’s smile against his cheeks as Ed tightened his grip.

“You know what this means, right?” Ed asked, separating from Oswald just enough for them to look at one another again. Oswald hummed in a questioning manner and Ed grinned devilishly.

“It means we don’t have to fight over the same girl like they always do in movies,” he said, causing Oswald to burst out laughing again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> zsasz isn't a bad guy in this; we actually had thought with missymisery that zsasz would probably only tease oswald because zsasz has a crush on him :D zsasz is definitely pansexual in this


	4. some nights i think of you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: mentions of alcoholism and child abuse in this chapter! it's mostly angsty fluff, though :") i really loved writing this chapter even though it took longer than expected. it also wasn't fully beta'd so there might be errors!

_1995, November 1st_

Oswald had expected his life to miraculously flip around when middle school was over and they stepped up to Gotham High, the place where all the “cool kids” went school to. He’d been foolish to think that real life worked like high school movies. Gotham High was just as stinky and trashy as their previous school had been, but as freshmen they not only were completely lost for the first few weeks, but also got teased by the older students constantly. One thing was positive, though; people arguably paid less attention to Oswald since there were so many other oddballs in the mix, too.

September and October had flashed by in a confused haze. All Oswald remembered from those couple of months were the agonizing assignments and the fact that Edward had developed a crush on like three different girls within the first week. Ed had also been wrong about the fact that girls would come running over to him thanks to his black hair. If anything, girls stayed even further away from him than usual since he basically looked like a satanic goblin with his dark hair and the cheap plastic chains on his jeans. His mom had finally let him renew his wardrobe – goodbye gross sweaters and mismatched socks, welcome punk!

November started off as pretty ordinary for him. Ed hadn’t been at school on Monday because of a science fair, so Oswald had been confused as all fuck during his English lesson, but other than that it was awfully mundane. One thing he loved and simultaneously hated about high school was how they no longer studied with the same group of kids in every class. This meant more freedom from morons, but also separation from Ed. For the first couple weeks of September Oswald had felt like a puppy with separation anxiety when Ed wasn’t sitting next to him in class.

When Oswald arrived in front of his and Ed’s locker, their usual place for meetings before and between classes, he had expected to get a cheery “hiya!” from Edward and maybe some explanation on how the science fair had gone, but instead he found the spot empty. He furrowed his brows and checked the small gap in-between their lockers. It was a little spot where they sometimes left secret notes to each other, but it was as empty as the hallway in front of him. Oswald shrugged it off – maybe Ed had just gotten sick and stayed home -  and went on with his day.

His first period was maths, undoubtedly one of his least favorite subjects, and it was usually a class he shared with Edward, but now he had to manage all alone since Ed had left him to his own accords. About twenty minutes into the lesson Oswald had already fallen into a coma and he was absent-mindedly drawing skulls on the side of the notebook page instead of working on his exercises. That was when someone knocked on the door. Oswald’s eyes followed their teacher as she walked to the door and opened it. In any other situation Oswald would have maybe given a lazy grin at whichever poor soul was late to class, but he perked up the second he recognized who was standing in the hallway. Edward.

Oswald immediately noticed something was off about the boy. The most obvious thing was the fact that Ed was late. Edward Nashton was never, ever, _ever_ late for school. The brunette uttered a half-hearted explanation of his alarm clock not working or something as he walked into the classroom and sulked into the back row where Oswald was sitting. Ed sat down next to him and pulled out his book, not even saying a hello. Oswald stared at him intensely.

“Where were you?” Oswald whispered after the teacher had returned to the subject at hand. Ed glanced at him and Oswald’s heart skipped a beat when he got to look at Ed’s face properly up close. He was paler than usual but at the same time the apples of his cheeks were burning red, almost like he had a fever. The whites his eyes were also bloodshot and there were obvious signs that Ed had been crying just a moment earlier. Hell, his bottom lip was still quivering! “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing”, Ed said inaudibly, so quiet that Oswald pretty much had to read it from his lips. “Like I said. Alarm.” Ed turned away and buried his nose into the maths book, indicating the conversation to be over. Oswald frowned and contemplated whether he should keep pestering or give up. How would he like to be treated if he was in Ed’s shoes? After a bit of thinking Oswald decided to shut his mouth and leave Edward alone. He didn’t say a word for the rest of the lesson, but he also didn’t manage to get a single exercise done. Ed had been crying and looked seriously hurt. Why? What was wrong with him?

During the second period, Oswald had planned on asking all these questions during the lunch break, but Edward didn’t show up to the cafeteria and he also couldn’t be found in the school library or on the yard. Oswald, now wet from the falling snow, cold from the wind and irritated beyond belief, stomped angrily to his third lesson of the day; history.

To his surprise, Edward was in front of their lockers after school. He was blankly staring into his locker without making an effort to do anything productive. He didn’t notice Oswald until he opened his own locker. “Oh, hey!” Ed said. Oswald looked at him and saw how pretentiously cheery Edward seemed.

“You weren’t in history”, Oswald got straight to the point. The comment made Edward’s smile vanish.

“I... uh, a dentist appointment”, he said. “Had to get my braces tightened.”

“You just had one last month, Ed”, Oswald said and furrowed his eyebrows. Ed busied himself with grabbing his coat from the locker and began fiddling with the buttons. “If something’s wrong, you gotta tell me, man”, Oswald continued and slammed his locker shut after emptying his backpack in there.

“I’m okay!” Ed said way too fast to not sound defensive. Oswald frowned as he watched Edward fumble with the buttons. His hands were visibly shaking.

“Hey, wanna come over tonight?” Oswald asked out of the blue. “I know mom won’t mind. She loves you like you’re her own flesh and blood.”

Edward looked initially scared by the suggestion, but his expression softened, and he nodded. “Yeah”, he said with a small smile. “I’ll come, sure.”

“Dope”, Oswald grinned and punched Ed on the shoulder gently. He regretted it immediately, because Ed flinched back like he had actually been hurt. “Shit, sorry”, he said, but Edward raised his hand to silence the other, shaking his head vigorously.

“It’s fine! I just... you caught me off guard”, he said and smiled brightly. It was a fake smile. “Shall we get going?”

Oswald had been right about his mother’s reaction to seeing Ed. While their house was small and they didn’t have a lot of resources for fancy living, Gertrud always made sure to cook extra nicely whenever Ed came over, and never forgot to bake some desserts for the boys. Oswald hadn’t dared to ruin the mood at the dinner table by starting to question Edward’s odd behaviour, especially not when it seemed that Ed had started to relax and get happier while stuffing blueberry pie in his mouth.

After dinner Ed insisted on doing his homework – once a nerd, always a nerd – and had even offered to do Oswald’s when he hadn’t seemed excited. In the end Edward did both of their work while Oswald busied himself with building a pillow fort over his bed. His room was small, but he did have a big bed that easily fit both him and Edward. They’d gotten so used to each other’s presence that they didn’t find it awkward or weird to sleep so close even as teenagers.

At last, Oswald stepped backwards and observed his masterpiece. It looked like a cozy bird’s nest; enough pillows and blankets for them to drown under, a blanket stretched over the bed like a ceiling, and some Christmas lights he had managed to find from a cupboard in the hallway. It was cute. Oswald gave Ed an old shirt he found from his closet – it was a bit small on Ed, but more comfortable than the button-up the boy was currently wearing – and left Edward to his own accords to change while he went into the bathroom to wash off the small amount of makeup he was wearing. It was something he was still a little scared of doing publicly, so he always went for just a bit of concealer and something to fill his eyebrows in. So far, no one had paid attention.

“We’re going to bed”, he announced after exiting the bathroom and peeking into the living room where his mom was watching some boring soap opera on the television.

“Already?” Gertrud said, looking at the clock. It wasn’t even 8pm yet.

“Uhh. Yeah”, Oswald said and scratched his head. “I gotta talk to Ed about something and I’d rather you not walk in.” His mother’s expression shifted into a cheeky grin, and Oswald’s cheeks immediately flushed red.

“We’re not gonna _fuck_ , mom!” he screeched and hoped Ed couldn’t hear the conversation through the closed door of his bedroom. “I just- he’s sad. I wanna know why. Shit, you old folk are feral.”

“It is good you care for your friend, Oswald”, Gertrud said with a blissful smile. “Edward is so good. Such a sweet boy, just like my little cobble pot.”

“Uh-huh”, Oswald said, staring firmly at the floor. “Okay. Yeah. Cool. So, good night, mom.”

“Good night. I love you.”

“Love you too”, Oswald muttered, turned around and rushed out of the hallway, into his own room. He closed the door firmly as an indication that he was definitely serious about the “don’t walk in, mom” aspect, and then turned to face Edward. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at nothing with a blank expression. He seemed completely out of it.

Oswald coughed and Ed jumped, having woken up from his trance. He looked at Oswald, eyes wide, and only relaxed when he recognized his friend. “You good?” Oswald asked and took a seat next to Ed. Edward nodded quickly.

“Mm-hmm! I just was lost in thought”, he said and looked away. They stayed quiet for a second, before Ed spoke again. “Well! I’m going to sleep.” He crawled further into the bed until he was basically face against the wall and pulled one of the blankets over him. Oswald was dumbfounded by the action but ended up laying down too.

Oswald couldn’t fall asleep. He listened to Edward’s breathing and judged by the inconsistency, he wasn’t asleep either. He stared at the dim fairy lights, thinking long and hard. He hadn’t gotten anything out of Ed. Edward wasn’t the type of person to keep secrets from his friend. Hell, Ed was the walking equivalent to “too much information”. He told Oswald everything that happened. Why was he so secretive now? He’d never seen Ed cry before, either. He had looked so upset earlier that day. Ed was a bad liar, and Oswald wasn’t buying the alarm clock excuse for a second.

Oswald sighed silently and turned on his side, facing Ed’s back. He looked at the boy with a deep frown. That was when he noticed something odd. Ed was only wearing a pair of boxers and the tank top Oswald had given him, so his arms were exposed. Even in the dim light Oswald could see the bruises on Ed’s upper arms. It was like someone had repeatedly grabbed him by the arm. They weren’t the type of bruise you would get from falling over or hitting yourself on something on accident. Those were intentional.

“Ed?” he said quietly.

“Mmm?”

“Can’t sleep either?”

“Yeah”, Ed whispered.

“Can I ask you something?” Oswald asked, propping himself up a little.

“Technically you already did”, Ed muttered and made Oswald smile a little. There was that little bit of the old Ed still there. “Go ahead.”

“How did you get those bruises?” Oswald asked. He hadn’t meant to be so blunt, but being subtle clearly hadn’t worked earlier, so this was the only way he could address the issue at this point. He saw Ed visibly flinch upon the question. The brunette didn’t answer, nor did he face Oswald. He just laid there, staring at the wall stubbornly.

Finally, he opened his mouth. “I don’t know what you me-“

“Stop”, Oswald interrupted and sat up properly. He stared at Ed, feeling both angry and worried. “You _do_ know what I mean, Ed. I’m not dumb and you’re not stupid either.” Edward shuddered.

“Please”, Oswald said quietly and touched Ed’s shoulder in order to turn him around. Ed shook his hand away and buried himself deeper into the blankets. “Dude, we’re friends. I thought we weren’t supposed to keep secrets, remember? Last year when I said I was gay? We made a pinky promise. No secrets.”

“This isn’t something... I can just tell you, okay?” Edward’s head peeked from under the covers again. His voice trembled like a leaf in the wind. Oswald didn’t see his face, but he knew Edward wasn’t far from tears if he hadn’t already started crying again. “I’m sorry. It’s nothing personal.”

“I wanna help you.”

“You can’t help me, Ozzie.” Finally, Ed proceeded to roll on his back and look at Oswald in the eyes. While Oswald was happy that Ed trusted him enough to do so, he also felt so bad seeing Edward’s expression. He looked heartbroken and shaken up, bottom lip quivering and eyes red.

“Doesn’t hurt to try, right?” Oswald scooted back into a laying down position, facing Ed who flipped on his other side. Oswald attempted to give an encouraging smile, but it fell flat. Ed looked away from him, promptly staring at the pillow.

“Hey, let’s do this like a game, okay? You like games”, Oswald suggested. He gained Ed’s interest back. “I’m just gonna ask you questions, and you shake your head yes or no?” It was a poor excuse to get answers, but something in the way that he laid the options out to Ed made the boy feel comforted. After a bit of thinking, Ed ended up nodding.

“Okay”, Oswald said, relieved. “Let’s start. Um. Did you get the bruises recently?” Ed hesitated a little before nodding his head yes.

“Was it an accident?” No. “Do they hurt?” Ed shrugged. Edward had always had a pretty high pain tolerance as far as Oswald knew.

“Do you know the person who did that to you?” Ed bit his lip, and then nodded. Oswald’s eyebrows furrowed. There weren’t a lot of people in Ed’s life who would do that to him. “Do you have a bully? Hey! Is that why you were late? Because some stupid jock slammed you into a locker and stole your lunch money or something?”

“What? No!” Edward exclaimed, clearly tired of playing mute. The sudden outburst surprised Oswald, but he was glad to see Ed speaking again.

“Did it happen at school?”

“No. I- frick”, Ed mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut for a second. Oswald would have perhaps teased Ed for the pathetic excuse for a curse, but all he could do was eagerly wait for Edward to speak up again. “Will you promise me you won’t tell anyone about this?” Ed opened his eyes and looked at Oswald pleadingly. “No one can no. Not even your mom, okay? Nobody except you.”

“Yeah, of course”, Oswald nodded.

“Okay”, Ed breathed in and out slowly. “It... it was my father.”

“What?!” Oswald jolted up so fast that he hit his head against the blanket ceiling. He hissed when the heated up fairy lights hit his scalp, and Edward looked terrified at the sudden movement. He glowered and backed away into the wall again.

“I knew I shouldn’t have told!” he shouted into the blanket, finally breaking down. Hot tears rushed down his cheeks and he buried his face into the pillow, sobbing audibly. Oswald cursed under his breath and laid back down. He tried to get Ed to look at him, but it was useless.

“Shit, fuck, I- I’m sorry, Ed! I just freaked out”, Oswald shushed, trying his damnest to calm Ed down by rubbing the lump he assumed to be Ed’s back under the covers. “Hey, listen... Please let me hug you.”

It was a miracle that Edward complied with his request, but it happened. His grip of the blanket loosened enough for Oswald to pull it off and scoot right next to him. He turned Ed around, so they were facing one another and pulled him into a tight embrace. Ed’s tear-strained face against his collarbones did nothing to soothe Oswald’s racing heart. They stayed like that for a long time. Oswald let Ed cry against him until there were no tears left to cry. He was sure he had also shed a few tears out of pure grief for his best friend. Edward was the last person who deserved to be hurt by anyone. He was always so kind to everyone, always so positive and diligent and helpful.

After maybe half an hour, Ed finally started to calm down. His sobs became further apart, and the hiccups had gone away. His body was still trembling a bit like he was running a fever – it honestly didn’t feel like an impossible equation in Oswald’s mind when you added in the heat of Ed’s body – but no more tears were running down his reddened face. In any other situation Oswald would have been grossed out by the snot on his shirt, but it was _Ed_.

“Do you wanna talk?” Oswald whispered and ran his hand through Ed’s curls. His hair was so incredibly soft. Edward pulled back from the hug and looked at Oswald. Somehow, even with tear- and snot-streaks covering his face, nose and eyes red and lips swollen he looked like the most beautiful thing Oswald had ever seen. _Stop it_ , Oswald wanted to slap himself. This was _not_ the time for those types of thoughts. Ed was his best friend. They were brothers.

“I don’t know what to say”, Ed said and swiped his face against the blanket. “I- I didn’t win the science fair and he... and he just got really, really mad.”

“Has he ever hurt you before?” Oswald asked and took Ed’s hand in his. It made a tiny smile appear on both of their faces.

“Not to this extent”, Ed said with a tired shrug. “I mean, sometimes he’d pull me by the hair or spanked me if I misbehaved as a kid but that’s, that’s like normal.” Oswald wanted to say it really didn’t sound normal, but he kept his mouth shut.

“He’s been drinking more since mom left”, Ed admitted. Edward’s parents had divorced at the end of last year, a couple days before Christmas. It had been a shitty time for everyone, but Ed had said he had known it was coming. His parents had been constantly arguing and he was pretty sure his mom had had an affair with one of her co-workers.

“Is he like an alcoholic-level bad?” Oswald asked.

“Yeah”, Ed said. “He drinks pretty much every night. Often says how he’d beat me up, but I always thought they were just threats...”

“Dude, I’m so fucking sorry”, Oswald said and squeezed Edward’s hand tighter. Ed sniffed and nodded silently. “Can... can I ask what he did? Or is that too hard to chat about?”

“It’s okay, I suppose”, Ed said. His voice sounded kind of hollow. “It was weird. It was almost like I was watching it from someone else’s perspective... He hit me with a belt and his walking stick. And I fell down the stairs. And then he went to get more beer but passed out on the couch.”

“Fuck”, was all Oswald could get out. “You shoulda come over the second it happened!”

“It was late at night, I didn’t want to bother you...”

“You never bother me, Ed”, Oswald said and smiled. “Tell you what. You can come over whenever you feel like it. We’re like brothers, right? I’d never turn you away.”

“Are you sure?” Ed said. Oswald nodded immediately. “Well, I don’t really want to go home right now... So I could stay a couple nights?”

“Stay the whole fuckin’ week while you’re at it”, Oswald said and managed a grin. His expression got more serious almost right away. “I’m really fuckin’ glad you told me, Eddie. You’ve been through so much shit.”

“I’m really glad I have a best friend like you”, Edward said and smiled genuinely. He leaned in and hugged Oswald again. Oswald’s brain misfired when he heard Ed whisper a little “thank you so much” against his ear. Oswald hugged him back, pretty certain he never wanted to let go again. Ed felt so nice against his body. He was tall and skinny but also so warm and firm. His hair smelled of lavender – must have been the shampoo... Lavender was Oswald’s favorite flower.

Ed fell asleep, still tangled in Oswald’s limbs. Oswald didn’t have the heart to move when he felt Edward’s steady breathing against his chest. His heart fluttered when he watched the brunette breathe calmly. His eyelashes were so dark and long. His face was very nice-looking without the glasses. Maybe he should suggest for Ed to move into contact lenses. Very carefully he ran his thumb across Ed’s cheek. His skin was so smooth and flawless. He was like an angel...

He couldn’t help it. He simply had to press the smallest of kisses against Edward’s forehead. It wasn’t like Ed was ever going to know... That night, Oswald slept like a baby, still wrapped in Ed’s gentle embrace. Best friends. Brothers. Best friends. Soulmates? Yeah, he liked the sound of that more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oswald rlly be pullin out the brothers card after getting an emotional boner  
> also threw a little indicator at the riddler with the "It was almost like I was watching it from someone else’s perspective" line ;) i like to think of ed having undiagnosed DID (dissociative identity disorder) and while there won't be any big nudges at it in the fic, the riddler is definitely somewhere in there even during his teen years.


	5. stickin' it out, lettin' you down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is very much a filler chapter so i can transition into the next big sequence in the fic, so it's kinda short and not proofread lol. lots of banter between friends because i really wanted to get jim finally involved uwu

_1997, March 20th_

‘ _I can’t believe she said YES!!! God how lucky am I???????’_

_‘told ya, ur a charmer my man’_

_‘What should I do?? Where should we go? I didn’t think this through :(‘_

_‘dude why r u askin me. im gay.’_

“Passing notes, are we?” Both Oswald and Edward jolted upwards when they heard a voice behind them. Oswald cursed under his breath when they teacher, Mr. Johnson, extended his long arm and snatched the piece of notebook paper they had been using to keep up a conversation. Ed’s face flushed a deep shade of red and he buried his nose in the textbook on his desk. Oswald leaned on his chair and looked over his shoulder at their teacher who was reading through their extensive note-exchanging. They’d been chatting for a good thirty minutes by then, so it took a while for the man to finish the paper. When he got to the end, his jaw fell open.

“Why the long face, Mr. Johnson?” Oswald asked with a lazy grin. The teacher looked at him with a mix of confusion and anger and scrapped the paper, throwing it in the nearest trash can.

“Fifteen minutes after class, Oswald. Edward, ten.” With that, Mr. Johnson marched back to his desk and left the boys to their own accords. Oswald slumped on his seat and huffed.

“He’s keepin’ me longer ‘cause I’m gay”, he muttered, and Ed gave him an apologetic smile.

“Psst”, sounded a voice behind their backs. Ed focused on his book again while Oswald made sure their teacher was busy grading their earlier papers. He turned around and scooted backwards a bit so he could lean against the desk behind him.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“What were ya talkin’ ‘bout?” Victor Zsasz questioned in a whispered tone and leaned on his elbows eagerly. It was miraculous, but the two of them had actually become quite the good friends as of late. The fact that Oswald had found Zsasz blowing another guy off in the boys’ bathroom might’ve been a pretty big factor in that.

“Nothing. But Johnson knows I’m gay now”, Oswald murmured and giggled quietly. “He looked fuckin’ mortified.”

“Welp. As far as I know he’s only into teenage girls, so you’re good.”

“I still don’t believe he’s a perv”, Oswald said, glancing at their teacher.

“I have some intel”, Victor said knowingly and winked.

“Ew. What, did you dress up as a chick and make him fuck you or somethin’?” Oswald snorted.

“Nah, but Ivy said he touched her ass”, Zsasz admitted and shuddered. “Although that’s a pretty good idea, thanks Ozzie.”

“My fuckin’ pleasure.”

“Okay!” Mr. Johnson interrupted their chat by standing up from his chair and walking to the front of the classroom, raising his arms.

“Oh shit, he’s gonna admit he’s a perv”, Zsasz whispered, but Oswald had already turned back to the teacher and didn’t hear what the bald boy was saying.

“As you may know, the sophomores are taking a field trip over to the Gotham Campsite next month”, Mr. Johnson spoke. Oswald groaned inaudibly. Camping was something he wasn’t particularly fond of and judged by the generally displeased looks on his classmates’ faces, they agreed. “I am to take this history class there, so this is the group you’ve been assigned to be camping with.” More murmuring from the students.

“I need to pick a student for a position of trust and responsibility. They are to keep watch of the rest of the students while there are no teacher present. Any volunteers?” the teacher looked around the room. Unsurprisingly, not a single hand raised. No one wanted to be the snitch when their classmates would be breaking rules – let’s face it, at least someone was going to find some weed to bring.

After a moment of silence, someone sighed. “Alright. Fine. I’ll do it.” Oswald side-eyed the boy sitting at the edge of the classroom.

“Of course, the golden boy James Gordon takes the responsibility”, he said with a sly smile. Jim glared at him.

“Well someone has to. There’s a lake, Oswald. Can you swim?” Jim shot back. Oswald made an overdramatically offended sound and tried his best to look hurt, but his smirk was betraying him.

“Pretend to drown and Jim can come save you~”, Zsasz tuned in and fanned his face, fluttering his non-existent eyelashes.

“Jim would let him drown”, the boy sitting next to James, Harvey Bullock, added, not even raising his head from the desk. He was carving something into the wood of the table with a compass.

“Dude, Jim’s a charmer. He’d save anyone to boost his white boy ego”, Zsasz said.

“Bro, you’re white and you definitely got an ego, too”, Oswald rolled his eyes.

“So it’s settled!” Mr. Johnson clapped his hands together and silenced the class. “James will take care that the rest of you won’t get yourselves killed. The bus leaves at 9am on April 1st. If you’re late, that’s your own problem.”

“That’s my birthday...”, Ed muttered to himself and looked at Oswald.

“Congrats. It’s gonna be your greatest”, Oswald said with a grin. Ed couldn’t help but smile a bit.

“At least I don’t have to spend it alone. Or with dad.”

“Let’s get like a cake and shit. I’ll tell my mom to bake one!” Oswald sounded excited all of sudden. Ed rolled his eyes with a somber smile. Usually fifteen-to sixteen-year-olds didn’t get so hyped up about a birthday cake, but maybe it would be fun. Oswald’s birthday back in January had been a really boring one because he’d caught a terrible cold and had spend the day bedridden – perhaps this was his way to get redemption.

“Okay, fine. Make a strawberry one, please”, Ed said. “And help me decide what I’m supposed to do about Isabella.”

Oswald and Ed decided to continue their conversation at the lunch table. Oswald, however, also chose to intentionally invade Jim Gordon’s personal space and take a seat at his table. It was surprising to see Jim eating alone; usually he was always surrounded by pining girls or stupid jocks. Jim didn’t look too bothered by his uninvited lunch company, and Ed also sat down with his tray after Oswald had done so.

“What do you want, Oswald?” Jim asked when Oswald scooted on the seat next to him. Straight to the point, like Jim always did.

“Do I need to want something to say hi to my dear friend Jimmy?” Oswald responded with a counter-question and grinned maliciously. His expression turned back to neutral almost instantly. “Actually, I do need something. Or more like Ed needs something.”

Jim looked at Ed with a raised eyebrow, fork in his mouth. “Mm-hmm?” the blonde hummed in a questioning manner.

“You’re straight, right?” Oswald asked rather bluntly. Jim swallowed his food before nodding with a slight shrug.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Ed’s got himself a date. And we both know I’m not qualified to give advice when it comes to women”, Oswald trailed off with a suggestive nod of his head.

“So you want me to give relationship advice to Edward?” Jim asked in disbelief. Oswald nodded eagerly despite Ed’s embarrassed expression.

“Need I remind you that I’m also single?” Jim scoffed. “I hardly know how to snatch a date.”

“Well that part is already done!” Ed tuned in and looked at Jim desperately. “Please, James, just... give me some tips. Oswald is _useless_!”

“Excuse me, I’m not useless. If you ever date a guy, I’m here”, Oswald grinned. He saw Jim give him a specific look and he kicked the blonde’s leg under the table.

“Who are you going out with?” Jim asked after sucking in a breath thanks to Oswald’s sharp leg.

“Isabella from grade 11”, Ed answered. “The one with blonde hair and pretty face.”

“Yeah, I know who you mean. I thought she wasn’t into guys”, Jim said and scratched his head. Ed looked horrified until Jim chuckled. “I’m just fucking with you. I heard she’s a big fan of movies and stuff.”

“She’s Kristen’s sister, isn’t she?” Oswald joined the conversation even though he already knew the answer. “Kinda sly to go for the second sister when the first didn’t work out if you ask me, Eddie.”

“It’s not like that!” Edward squealed and blushed. “They’re both so nice and beautiful and smart, I can’t help it!”

“Being straight sounds exhausting”, Oswald said with a yawn.

“Sucking dick sounds exhausting too”, Jim said and sipped on his glass of milk.

“Wouldn’t you know?” Oswald teased.

“I’ve never tried.” Jim looked thoughtful. “I did kiss Harvey Dent in a Christmas party last year, though.”

“I thought you were supposed to be straight!” Oswald said, bewildered.

“I am”, Jim said like he was talking about the weather. “But he was drunk and begging for it and I didn’t want to make him feel bad, so I just went for it. He was a sloppy kisser, 4 out of 10.”

“You’re unbelievable”, Oswald muttered. “Never mind, okay? Ed just has to take Izzy to the movies and smooch her real nice, bada bing bada boom.”

“Don’t use tongue”, Jim said helpfully. Ed sunk back in his chair and shook his head.

“I can’t do this”, he murmured with a depressed expression. Oswald leaned forward and took a hold of his arm.

“Eddie, you’re great. Isabella’s a lucky bitch to go out with you.”

“Subtle”, Jim whispered quiet enough for Ed to not hear it. Oswald glared at him and wanted to respond but kept quiet. “But Oswald’s right, Ed. You’re a sweet guy. I’m sure it’s gonna go just fine.”

 

When Oswald met up with Ed on Saturday – his “date” had been on Friday – he immediately knew Ed had fucked up, because he looked absolutely devastated. Oswald kept his mouth shut as they entered their favourite coffee shop and ordered, and only addressed the issue at hand when they were seated with their desired beverages.

“So... You botched it?” Oswald said and took a sip of his coffee. Ed let out an incoherent moan and slammed his forehead against the table loud enough to cause the elderly couple nearby to look at them weirdly.

“So bad!”

“Did you use too much tongue?” Oswald grinned. “Remember what Jim said?”

“What? No! We didn’t kiss or anything”, Ed said and raised his head from the table, looking positively mortified.

“Tell your best buddy about it”, Oswald said and twirled a spoon in the coffee.

“It started off... okay? Like, I took her to the movies, and we grabbed some soda and stuff on the way there. She was super pretty, and I was... me”, Ed explained and frowned. “I wanted to keep the movie a surprise, right, I thought it’d be cute? And so we went it and I’d picked _Scream_ because I’ve seen so many critically acclaimed reviews-“

“Hold the fuck up”, Oswald said and put his cup down. “You chose a horror movie on your first date?”

“...Yeah?”

Oswald facepalmed. “So how did that go?”

“She didn’t like it”, Ed admitted and sunk further into his chair. “But you know what’s worse? She didn’t even do that romance movie thing where the woman gets scared and clings onto the man and they end up cuddling in the movie theatre and it’s super romantic and cozy and they end up walking back home in the rain sharing an umbrella!”

“Uh-huh?” Oswald uttered.

“She just sat through the movie, gritting her teeth, and then left with a quick ‘bye’ before the end credits had even rolled!” Edward frowned and rubbed his reddened forehead. “I effin’ suck!”

“She doesn’t deserve you, Ed”, Oswald said as he watched the bubbles at the top of his coffee swirl around. “You deserve someone better.”

“But she is the best...”

“But she doesn’t appreciate you the way you are.” Wow, look at those bubbles twirl.

“Yeah. Maybe you’re right.”

“You’re better than this.”

“I’m better than this”, Ed said, voice slightly stronger. Oswald had not paid attention to half of the stuff Ed had said, but he was glad he was able to cheer the brunette up. He knew he should have been more sympathetic, more understanding and caring, but he simply couldn’t. In fact, he was rather happy that Ed’s date had gone poorly, as terrible as it sounded. It wasn’t something he was going to deny anymore; he was desperately crushing on Edward Nashton.

He had no idea how it had happened. When had he stopped seeing Ed as his best friend and started looking at him like that? As a potential date? Partner? Of course, the thought was ridiculous. Oswald knew Ed was straight as a line and someone like Oswald was definitely not going to change that. He was as out of Ed’s league as Ed was out of Isabella’s.

“Ozzie?” Oswald snapped out of his thoughts when he realized Ed was repeatedly calling his name. “Are you okay? You just stared at me for like a minute.”

“Yeah! Fine!” Oswald said quickly and took a big sip of the coffee. “I was just thinkin’ about shit. No biggie.”

“Were you thinking about the field trip?” Ed asked.

“Sure”, Oswald shrugged. “You excited about it or somethin’?”

“Not particularly”, Ed said with a grimace. “Almost a week in the middle of nowhere with classmates, most of which you despise, getting eaten by mosquitos and forced to socialize? Sounds splendid.”

“When have you been so negative?” Oswald said with a slight smirk. “Zsaszy’s sneakin’ in booze and weed. We’re gonna get fuckin’ wasted, dude.”

“I’d rather not”, Ed said and bit his lip. Oswald leaned on the table and grabbed his arm.

“Ed.”

“Oswald.”

“Come on”, Oswald tempted him. “You’re turning sixteen, man, you gotta take at least a shot.”

“Fine! _One_ shot if you quit bugging me”, Ed said with a resigned sigh and made Oswald howl in victory. “But I’m not gonna save you from the lake if you go skinny dipping drunk.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it”, Oswald laughed. “That’s Jim’s job, remember?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no one:  
> oswald in this chapter: i'm gay


	6. everything is temporary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN TWO WEEKS OR SOMETHING DDDDD:::: i'm back now, though!!! this chapter is brought to you by the fact that i found my old tamagotchi while cleaning and have already killed it like six times. whoops. im a bad parent.  
> lots and lots of banter in this chapter. more action and feely stuff in the next one, promise ;)  
> i also changed the complete number of chapters from 11 to 10 since it's a nice round number and i also realized i hadn't planned one of the chapters like, at all. so yea

_1997, April 1st_

While it was a fact that Edward was never late for school, the same definitely could not be said about Oswald. For a change it was not his fault that he was running late, though. When he rushed downstairs, looking for a sock without a hole in it, he not only found the sock but also his mother in the kitchen decorating Edward’s birthday cake. Gertrud didn’t even give her son a good morning kiss on the cheek like usual – which made Oswald secretly glad – and only hummed a greeting, focusing on placing the final strawberries on top of the cake.

“Jeez, how am I supposed to carry that to school?” Oswald asked and grabbed one of the strawberries from the box. She didn’t respond, just smiled and continued what she was doing.

“Is packing ready?” Gertrud asked as Oswald left to go put on some powder.

“Already finished last night!” he shouted from the bathroom. Packing his backpack had turned out to be much more difficult than he had anticipated. How many pairs of boxers did one need if they stayed in the woods for a whole week? Should he bring makeup, or did nobody care? Did he need snacks? Bug-spray would probably come in handy... Maybe something to read?

He emerged from the bathroom with a bit of foundation and some black eyeshadow around his eyes. He happened to glance at a clock on the hallway wall and jolted.

“It’s already 8:45! What the hell, mom?!” he screamed, storming up the stairs to grab his backpack. He couldn’t hear what Gertrud was shouting back at him. Mr. Johnson had specifically said that the bus would leave at 9am sharp, and if you were late no one would wait for you. It was a thirty minute walk from Oswald’s home to Gotham High, but the bus drove past his street at 8:50. Five minutes time. He checked his alarm clock – four minutes, actually.

“Crap”, he muttered when he returned downstairs and found his mother holding the finished cake in her hands like it was Baby Jesus himself. It was in a secured box, but Oswald still had some doubts. “There’s no way I’m gettin’ that to Ed without spilling it.”

Somehow, miraculously, he did indeed manage to get the cake to Gotham High in one piece. It was a minute to nine in the morning when the bus parked in front of the school and Oswald flashed through the doors as soon as they opened. He spotted a group of teens surrounded around another bus and Mr. Johnson counting heads. He sprinted across the yard, holding the cake like a bomb about to explode.

“Where is Cobblepot?” Mr. Johnson looked around the group with a furrowed brow.

“Right here!” Oswald shouted, coming to a halt in front of the group while panting heavily.

“Oh thank God, you made it”, Ed said, sounding incredibly revealed. “I was so sure you’d be late when I didn’t see you.”

“Trust me, so was I”, Oswald said with a weak grin and handed Ed the cake. “There you go, birthday boy.” Ed’s eyes widened when he looked inside the box. The cake was very beautiful, there was no doubting that. It was covered with white marzipan and big, juicy strawberries, and Gertrud had written ‘ _Happy Birthday, Edward’_ on top of it with green frosting.

“I love it”, Ed said, voice melting. He looked at Oswald with a huge smile. “Thank you!”

“I better get a bite”, Oswald said and pushed Ed on the shoulder gently. “Mom even packed some plates and spoons.”

“I love Gertrud”, Ed sighed, still staring at his cake.

“Alright, listen up!” Mr. Johnson interrupted their banter and eyed the group of teenagers suspiciously. “It’s a 30 minute drive to the campsite. They will provide us with tents and other camping suppl-“

“Wait, _what?_ ” a blonde girl, Barbara Kean, interrupted their teacher. She looked positively terrified. “We sleep in tents?!”

“Yes. What did you except, Ms. Kean?” Johnson asked, irritated.

“I have standards. I’m so not doing that”, Barbara said and shook her head with a disgusted expression. “There’s like... bugs and stuff. Are you telling me we also have to pee in a bush?”

“Mmm, love me a shit in the woods”, Zsasz teased. “If you’re lucky, a bee might fly up your-“

“Enough!” Mr. Johnson shut the quarrel down before it even started and looked at both the blonde and the baldie with an angry expression.

After some more banter from the students and more instructions from Mr. Johnson, they finally found themselves seated in the bus that curved off the curb and began driving them to their destination. Ed and Oswald sat at the very back of the bus, with Oswald on the window seat and Edward right next to him, still staring at his cake happily. Oswald rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a package of paper plates and some forks.

“Wanna dig in?” he asked and ripped the plastic packaging open with his teeth.

“Right here?” Ed asked, eyes wide. He looked around the bus; Mr. Johnson was sitting at the front row and no one else was really paying attention to them either. The two people sitting across the hallway from them, Victor Zsasz and Ivy Pepper, were busy chatting away loudly. Ed turned back to Oswald and shrugged. “Heck, why not.”

It wasn’t the most practical or aesthetically pleasing way to cut cake with a plastic fork, with said cake balanced on Edward’s lap, in a moving vehicle, but Oswald managed to transfer the pieces of cake over to their designated plates without dropping any on the floor. Edward packed the rest of the cake back up and stood up to slide the packaging onto the above-the-head-storage. Oswald handed him a plate and dove into his piece of cake.

“Mmmmy Goood”, he mumbled mouth full of cake and swallowed. “Mom knows what she’s doing, man.”

“It’s really good”, Edward said and smiled contently. While he wasn’t a big fan of sweets, he adored the cake. Maybe it was simply the fact that he knew Oswald’s mother had spent possible hours making it just for him. The thought made his heart flutter happily.

“So fuckin’ good”, Oswald confirmed and bit into the strawberry he had pierced with his fork. “So, birthday boy, what did you get from your parents?”

“Oh!” Ed exclaimed and hurried to pull something out of his pocket. It was a small plastic sphere hanging from a chain. It looked like a tiny game console. “I got this!”

“What is that?” Oswald asked and reached to take it in his hands. It was obnoxiously green and had three little buttons at the bottom with a small screen, currently black.

“It’s a Tamagotchi! They _just_ got released a couple weeks ago. It’s like a little virtual pet”, Ed explained while Oswald continued examining the item. “It’s Japanese. Dad got it for me. Probably thought it’d keep me preoccupied for a while or something.”

Oswald pressed the middle button and the screen came to life. On it was a bunch of function images as well as the pet itself. It was currently crying in a pile of its own poop. “Oh fudge”, Ed muttered and grabbed it back from Oswald. “It’s like having a real kid. I keep forgetting to feed it.”

Oswald laughed and stuffed more cake in his mouth. “Wow”, he said. “Never have kids, Eddie.”

“Fun fact”, Edward said and went into the pet’s profile. “Look. I named it Ozzie.” He showed the screen, which indeed said ‘ _OZZIE_ ’.

“I don’t know if I should be, like, offended or flattered”, Oswald said and grinned.

“Yooo, Nashton! Is that a Tamagotchi?”

Zsasz had crawled over to their side of the bus and was already peeking over Edward’s shoulder with a curious expression. Ivy was reaching her long neck to see too.

“Um, yes?” Ed said, slightly flustered, and showed the bald boy the console.

“Dope!” Zsasz shouted and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a similar item, although it was black and white and already covered in small stickers. “I got mine yesterday. Spent all my fuckin’ allowance but it’s so cute! My girl’s called Zsaszette. She’s the best. She’s my daughter and I would die for her.” Victor presented his virtual pet to Ed and Oswald; it was a small white creature, hopping all over the screen excitedly.

“What an imaginative name”, Oswald said dryly and rolled his eyes. “Y’all are a bunch of nerds.”

“Ozzie’s just jealous”, Ivy joined into the conversation and pulled Zsasz back down on the seats so she could have better view of the two other boys. “My dad said fuck those things when I asked for one”, she continued with a frown.

“You can borrow mine if you want”, Ed suggested and smiled.

“Oh my god, really?!” Ivy shrieked, beaming.

“Hey!” Zsasz whined when Ivy jumped over him to grab Edward’s Tamagotchi. “Eddie, not cool! You tryna steal my woman over here??”

“Are you two like a thing nowadays?” Oswald asked with a snarky smile. “Last I saw you were giving head to Alvarez in the boys’ bathroom.”

“We started dating last week”, Ivy said and pinched Zsasz’s cheek, still sitting practically on his lap. “Alvarez is handsome, though. I don’t blame him!”

“Exactly, he’s hot”, Zsasz said and faked an offended scoff. “But I prefer this one”, he continued and wiggled Ivy back and forth.

“One more soldier lost to the straights”, Oswald said with a melodramatic sigh and shook his head.

Gotham Campsite was one of those places that felt utterly pointless to everyone living in the city. Who in their right mind would voluntarily sleep in a forest in the middle of nowhere and _pay_ for it? Knowing Gotham, you’d end up murdered in the middle of the night and your body would wash up in the docklands a week later. Mr. Johnson, however, assured it would be completely safe to camp in the area as they had supervision at all times. There were three cabins – one was the space where said supervisors, including Mr. Johnson slept (this made multiple people irrationally pissed off), one was a small shack storing equipment like boats, tents, life vests and outdoor games, and the third one was seemingly one you could rent for personal use. They were given tents and thirty minutes to set them up on a big open patch of grass.

“Do these come with instructions?” Zsasz asked as the group marched to their sleeping spot and waved the packed up tent in his arms. No one looked particularly excited about what was happening, but Edward attempted to smile reassuringly in Oswald’s directions.

“It’s just like a puzzle”, he said when they settled on a spot near the lake and threw their backpacks on the ground. Ed placed the cake on the grass and folded his sleeves up to his elbows. “This’ll be easy-peasy.”

It was not easy-peasy. In twenty minutes they managed to get the tent looking _somewhat_ decent, but if a heavier wind blew over it, it would collapse on them in the middle of the night. To Edward’s displeasure, the tent also looked really small. Either they had assembled it incorrectly or it just happened to be like that. His long legs would not enjoy sleeping in that for multiple days.

“That doesn’t look right”, Oswald said, folding his arms and huffing in frustration. “Dude, what the fuck?” he continued, having raised his gaze from the tent. He stared at Ivy and Zsasz who had settled down close-by. Their tent looked amazing. It was spacious and sturdy and definitely assembled according to instructions.

“Yo, what is _that_?” Oswald shouted at Zsasz and pointed at their tent.

“Oh! Ivy brought her own tent and stuff! We even got an electric kettle!” Zsasz responded and grinned at Oswald’s facial expression.

“Um. Do you think Ivy could help us out with this?” Ed asked sheepishly and gestured at their pathetic excuse of a tent. Ivy emerged from her tent at that moment and looked over at their neighbors. She giggled and shook her head.

“What? Have you never been camping, boys?” she asked as she walked over to them and looked at the tent.

“Do we _look_ like the type of people to go camping?” Oswald replied with a counter-question and put a hand on his hip. “Just fix it, hippie.”

“You can have a piece of my birthday cake as compensation”, Ed promised and looked at Ivy apologetically. Her eyes opened wide and she let out a yelp.

“Is it your birthday?!” she shrieked and grabbed Edward by the arm hard enough to hurt.

“U-um, yes.”

“Oh my God! I had no idea!! Happy birthday!” Ivy yelled and pulled Ed into a tight hug. Ed’s face flushed red; while he wasn’t the type of person to normally care about personal space, he really didn’t think he and Ivy were such good friends that they were at the hugging level already. Oh well, she looked happy to provide Ed with a hug and he decided to not complain.

“This is outrageous”, Zsasz interrupted their “intimate” moment by pulling Ivy away from Ed. He pouted profusely and smooched the girl on the cheek. “I wanna hug you too.”

“Aww, Zsaszy...”, Ivy said and cupped his cheeks, pressing a soft kiss on the tip of his nose. “We got all the time in the world to cuddle later, baby.”

“Just _finish. The. Tent_!” Oswald was losing his patience and ripped the lovers apart. Ivy giggled and turned around, beginning to fiddle with their tent while Zsasz was busy glaring at Edward.

“Bro, relax. Ed’s not in love with her”, Oswald said and pat the baldie on the shoulder. He did, however, shot a look in Ed’s direction, too. “Or are you?” He squinted his eyes. Ed sputtered for a second, shaking his head.

“Obviously not!” he squealed and folded his arms around his torso. “Unlike you, I don’t crush on every person I meet.”

Oswald gasped and looked incredibly offended, but it was somewhat ruined by the obvious grin on his face. “How dare you?” he said and pouted his lips. “I’ll have you know, love is a _very_ important thing to me, and I shall treat it as such!”

“Did you say that to Gordon after sucking his dick after the football practice?” Zsasz smirked.

“You did what?” Ed said, eyes almost popping out of his head.

“I did _not_ suck anyone’s dick!” Oswald shrieked and punched Zsasz on the arm. “Unfortunately”, he continued and couldn’t stop himself from winking.

“You’re so chaotic”, Zsasz shook his head with the widest grin on his face. “I’mma be ten bucks you’ll have someone’s dick in your mouth by the end of this trip.”

“If you don’t shut up I’m gonna break your spine and make you suck your own dick”, Oswald threatened and glared at Victor.

“Oh shit, that reminds me; Ivy is _really_ stretchy-“

“OKAY!” Oswald screamed and started pushing the bald boy away from their tent. “Nobody wants to hear that! My poor virgin ears!”

“All done, boys”, Ivy announced out of thin air. Ed, who had just followed the exchange in front of his in complete disbelief yet also incredibly amused, turned to look at their tent. It actually looked really nice now that Ivy had gotten her hands on it. It looked a bit bigger than before and didn’t appear at the brink of collapsing anymore.

“Thanks so much”, Ed said and lifted the cake from the ground. “Here. Your reward.”

“Oh man, wait”, Ivy said and looked at the cake suspiciously. “Does that have eggs in it? Milk?”

“Uhh. I mean, yeah? I guess?” Ed said and looked at her, confused.

“Oh, never mind then. I’m vegan”, Ivy explained and shot him a smile. “More for you!”

“Can I pay you somehow else?”

“I already got this!” Ivy said and took Edward’s Tamagotchi out of her jean pocket. “Can I keep it overnight?”

“Go ahead. Just turn the volume off, it can be super loud when you’re trying to sleep”, Ed said and shrugged. “Thanks again.”

“Alright, enough flirting”, Oswald said. He had walked back to his and Ed’s tent and put his arm protectively around Ed’s shoulder.

“I just told you I’m not in love with Ivy”, Ed said and rolled his eyes tiredly.

“It’s not like I don’t trust you, but I obviously don’t trust you, so...” Oswald trailed off and smirked a bit. “Thanks, though. For the tent.” Ivy flashed a bright smile and returned to her own tent with a small wave, leaving the two of them alone.

“Don’t look so grim”, Ed said when he saw Oswald’s smile fade. “We’re gonna have fun. Okay?”

“Whatever you say”, Oswald said, still glancing over at Ivy and Zsasz. He couldn’t lie, they were pretty cute together.

“I am saying that we will have fun”, Ed said slowly and caught Oswald’s attention back by grabbing his shoulder too. “Wanna go play table tennis before lunch?”

Oswald’s smile returned and he grinned a bit. “You dare challenge the master?”

“I’ve been perfecting my craft”, Edward said with an equally wide smile.

“Loser has to sleep on the more lumpy side of the tent”, Oswald said.

“Challenge accepted.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i made ivy vegan in this but i had a conversation with march and we both agreed that ivy would definitely not be vegan because she's literally FEEDING PEOPLE TO HER PLANTS in canon. bruh. she would never eat plants.


	7. when the moon is looking down

_1997, April 1st_

Oswald had yet to spend his first full night at Gotham Campsite, but he was more than convinced that camping was _not_ his thing. After lunch they had gone hiking on a path surrounding the lake, and Oswald had never wanted to drown himself more. The mosquitos were already waking up from their winter-long hibernation – or whatever they did over the winter, he had no clue – and his pale skin seemed to be their favorite target. That, and Zsasz’s bald scalp, so they were equally itchy and pissed off when they returned to the campsite. Other than that, the day had been utterly boring. They had finished the evening by grilling some sausages and marshmallows by the campfire, but then Barbara’s fluffy coat had caught fire and Jim had had to throw it into the lake, and that was that. If Oswald sharpened his ears he could still hear Barbara complaining a few tents ahead.

Now he laid on the ground in their shared tent, staring at Ed’s back. Despite the sleeping bag and the mattress below him, Oswald felt uncomfortable on the ground. He turned his neck to look at Edward’s watch that was laying in-between them; almost midnight. They were permitted from moving around the campsite between 11pm and 7am – was he really supposed to just lay there for seven more hours?

“Ed?” he whispered, sharpening his eyes in the dark tent. “You awake?”

“Yeah,” Ed responded and rolled over to face Oswald with a silent huff. “Turns out both of the sides of the tent are uncomfortable, then?”

“Yep. So both of us lost.”

“Well, _technically_ I won,” Ed said and smiled smugly. Oswald rolled his eyes but smiled back.

“I’m feeling mischievous,” he confessed after a couple seconds of silence. Ed looked at him suspiciously and pursed his lips together. “Do you wanna go out and have some fun?” Oswald asked.

“I don’t know...,” Ed muttered and leaned on his elbow. “You know the rules. We shouldn’t.”

“Come _on_ , Ed!” Oswald tempted and scooted a little closer, staring at Ed intensively. “It’s your birthday, for like twenty more minutes. You gotta live a little! Sweet sixteen!”

“I’d rather live a little when I’m the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen,” Ed said with a wonky grin. Oswald knew that face and he giggled, sitting up.

“It’s not like Johnson’s gonna be out there watching us. He’s probably shagging some lifeguard in the cabin,” he said, already starting to put on his sneakers. Edward sighed dramatically and scooted out of his sleeping bag, also rising to a sitting position.

“Okay, _fine_ ,” he complied and put on his glasses. “But if someone catches us, it’s your fault.”

Oswald unzipped the tent door and peeked outside cautiously. The night had fallen over the field they were sleeping on and about fifteen other tents were around it. Some of them were lit up from the inside, probably by a flashlight, but it didn’t look like anyone else was outside. He gestured Edward to follow him and crawled out of the tent. He sighed as soon as the cool night air hit his skin. The sky was clear, and the moonlight made his pale skin look unnaturally silver. Ed stumbled out of the tent, holding a can of bug-spray.

“I know you’re going to complain otherwise,” he said and sprayed Oswald before he had the opportunity to start complaining. He did the same for himself and threw the can back into the tent, zipping it back up. “So, did you have like a plan or are we just going to stargaze or something?”

“Actually, I did have something in mind, even though that sounds incredibly lovely and romantic, Ed dear,” Oswald laughed and pointed towards the lake. “I saw a boat in-between the reeds there earlier. I was thinking we could go to the lake.”

“Have you gone mad?” Ed hissed and grabbed Oswald by the arm when he was starting to walk towards the pointed direction. “Have you ever rowed a boat? We don’t even have life vests! What if the boat starts to leak? What if there’s a mutant salmon and it eats us?”

“Ed, don’t be a dumbass,” Oswald said and snorted. “The lake ain’t gonna eat us. And you can swim, can’t you? If the boat flips over like in The Little Mermaid, just swim to the shore.” Ed still didn’t look convinced. He crossed his arms and bit his bottom him, glancing towards the lake.

“Edward,” Oswald muttered and squeezed his arm. “No one’s gonna catch us.”

“Promise?” Ed confirmed and exhaled.

“Yeah. Promise,” Oswald said and gave him a reassuring smile. “Let’s go.”

Neither of them had ever rowed a boat before, but it couldn’t possibly be that hard, right? Oswald cringed when his sneakers filled with water upon stepping into the water. The boat looked like it had been there since World War II, filled with twigs and all wet. He looked over his shoulder at Edward who was standing at the shore, stretching his neck to see better.

“Well. It has a plug. And the oars. We’re good!” Oswald informed, inspecting the boat. “It’s not gonna sink. That’s a positive, right?”

“It looks nasty,” Ed commented and grimaced. “Slimy.”

“Come on, pussy boy,” Oswald laughed and hopped into the boat. It wobbled in the water beneath his weight but did not fall over. “Untie the rope from the tree and get your ass over here.”

Edward, still regretting ever saying yes to this stupid plan, did as he was told and reached over to the old birch tree on which the boat had been tied to. He ripped the knot open and threw the end to Oswald, who managed to catch it mid-air despite also holding one of the oars. “We should’ve taken a flashlight,” Ed said, frowning, as he bounced from the shore into the rowboat. He managed to get in with dry feet thanks to his long legs.

“Relaaaaax,” Oswald said lazily and grabbed the oars properly. “And tell me how to move this thing.”

With combined efforts, they got the boat moving. After getting out of the reeds, Oswald took both of the oars back and continued rowing them towards the center of the lake. It wasn’t a very large one, so it took only about five minutes before they reached the estimated center point. Oswald let go of the oars and made sure they weren’t going to slip out of the boat – that would have been a real dud –, and then grinned at Ed.

“See?” he said and smiled smugly. “I’m a veteran.”

“Okay, fine. I guess this isn’t so bad,” Ed said and also smiled sheepishly. They took a moment to look at their surroundings properly for the first time. The circular lake was completely serene, the surface of the water still and like a mirror. It reflected the whole night sky, every single star multiplying on the water staring back at them. Edward breathed in slow, taking in the moment. His smile was more genuine now. His regret had started to flow away.

“Hey, look,” he said and gestured over to the sky. “It’s the Orion.”

“What?” Oswald asked, dumbfounded, and stretched his neck to look up at the stars. “I don’t see it.”

“And there’s Taurus! You see that bigger star over there?” Ed scooted closer to Oswald and moved his chin, so he was looking at the right direction. “It’s called Aldebaran. It’s the alpha star in Taurus. You see it?”

“Dude. I don’t know what I’m supposed to be lookin’ at.”

“That’s Polaris, the North Star. You know that one, right?”

“Yeah?” Oswald asked slowly, locating the star he was supposedly meant to be looking at.

“It’s the last star in the Little Bear’s handle. It creates the bear’s tail,” Ed explained and smiled brightly. Oswald looked at him and sighed.

“I don’t understand shit about astrology. Why are all the shapes so weird?” he asked and huffed in frustration. “You know what? I’m gonna make my own.” He grabbed Edward’s hand and pointed it at a random, bigger star on the sky.

“That’s the starting point to my own constellation. Gun.” He moved Ed’s hand across the sky until he had combined about ten stars in the shape of a handgun. Ed giggled and rolled his eyes.

“That’s not how it works.”

“You make one,” Oswald challenged him and gave a crooked grin.

“Umm,” Ed said, observing the sky with a furrowed brow. Then, he raised his hand again and tracked down up to fifteen stars, creating a big question mark shape in the sky. “There. The Riddle.”

“I’ll make sure to remember that,” Oswald said and winked, tracking the question mark on the sky as a confirmation. “This is fun, right?”

“Yeah, it is,” Ed said and let out a laugh. “I’m glad you forced me into this.”

“Mm-hmm,” Oswald murmured, eyes moving around the stars to find a new picture. “Hey! Watch this. It’s a penguin.”

“Now you’re just making stuff up,” Ed laughed. “This isn’t cloud gazing, Ozzie.”

“Could be?” Oswald pressed on. “I don’t care. It’s the Big Penguin now. I say so.”

“Is there a Little Penguin then?”

“That’s me,” Oswald said and smirked. He leaned against the edge of the boat in a half-laying down position and sighed contently, eyes still looking up. Edward’s giggles faded and he also relaxed a little as silence fell over the lake again. The only thing interrupting it was the distant sound of birds tweeting and the water sloshing around them occasionally if the boat moved around on its own.

It had been a while since Ed had been able to just sit and breathe. His eyes moved from the sky to look at Oswald instead. He was completely entranced by the constellations, quietly snickering to himself if he came up with a new one in his head. The moon luminated his prominent side profile; the nose that had broken when they had been climbing a tree and Oswald had fallen to the ground. The long eyelashes that were so light now that he wasn’t wearing makeup. The bright eyes, glistening in the moonlight like magic. The little freckles that were only noticeable up close. The hair softly blowing in the wind, usually so stiff and rough thanks to hairspray and gel.

For the first time, Edward realized how beautiful Oswald was. It wasn’t usually something he paid attention to. He was so used to Oswald’s company by now; hell, they had been best friends for years and Edward truly believed he knew Oswald by now. Still, staring at him in silence made Ed see a new side of Oswald. A side that was nearly always hidden. The gorgeous, quiet side. Oswald was observant, and smart, and collected, but only when he wanted to be. Or perhaps when he didn’t want to be?

Edward came to a rude awakening when an ear-piercing screech travelled over the water to his ears. He jolted up so aggressively the boat almost gave up underneath his butt, and Oswald seemed to have a similar reaction. He cursed like a sailor and looked around him frantically for the source of the scream. The sound was followed soon by loud laughter. They turned to look at the shore; Zsasz and Ivy were standing there in nothing but towels, laughing at them loud enough to possibly wake up the whole class.

“What the fuck?!” Oswald screamed at them. He grabbed the oars and started furiously rowing them back to the coast. Ed was still awfully disoriented and clutching his chest like he was scared that his heart would jump out any moment. His ears were burning, and he knew he was blushing, but luckily Oswald was so preoccupied on ripping Victor’s head off his shoulders that he paid no mind. It didn’t take him more than two minutes to step out of the boat into the muddy sand and attack Zsasz.

“Dude! _What_ were you doing there?!” Victor shouted, cackling, and ran away from Oswald.

“Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!” Oswald screamed and picked up a stick from the ground in an attempt to beat Victor up with it. The dishevelled Edward finally climbed out of the boat too and stumbled over to Ivy who was looking at the show before her, giggling.

“What are you doing here?” Ed asked as nonchalantly as possible.

“We wanted to go skinny dipping,” Ivy explained and bit her lip to stifle her laughs. She hugged the soft towel closer to her body and looked at Ed. “But then we noticed you two. What were you doing all the way over there?”

“Um,” Ed mumbled, trying to come up with an answer that wasn’t idiotic. “Oswald’s idea. Ask him.”

“Ozzie! Pleeeease calm down,” Ivy said, remembering the boy existed and was currently about to hit Zsasz with a huge stick. She hurried over to Oswald and grabbed his arm, putting it down. Oswald huffed so aggressively that his bangs flew upwards and glared at the couple before him.

“That was uncalled for,” Oswald said and threw away the stick. Edward joined the crowd sheepishly and tried to look anywhere except for Victor who was currently laying on the grass butt-naked since his towel had fallen off.

“I can’t believe I almost got murdered while naked,” Zsasz shook his head and picked up his towel, thankfully covering his private parts. “You owe an explanation, my man. Were you actually _stargazing_ with Eddie here?”

“And what if we were?” Oswald asked defensively, crossing his arms tightly.

“That’s so gay,” Victor snickered.

“So is sucking cock and I didn’t judge you for it!”

“Oswald, I think we should go back to the tent,” Ed suggested and grabbed Oswald by the shoulder. It was his way of saying ‘ _it probably won’t be good to break Victor’s nose right now’_ and miraculously Oswald took the hint.

“I hope a pike chomps your dick off,” Oswald said to Zsasz before shooting a mildly apologetic glance in Ivy’s direction and leaving the scene, Edward in tow.

Oswald threw himself onto the mattress and groaned in annoyance. Edward scooted into the tent and closed the zipper behind him. He was still surprised no one had heard them screaming on the beach, but he was also very thankful for that. Oswald looked incredibly pissed and kicked his sneakers off aggressively huffing.

“It was just Zsasz and Ivy,” Ed said reassuringly. “It’s alright, right?”

“I wanted to stay there for longer,” Oswald hissed and turned on his side, facing Ed who had also collapsed on his mattress. They looked at each other in silence for a second before Edward averted his gaze.

“I had a good time,” he said and smiled a little, mostly to himself. Oswald’s facial expression softened a little and he sighed long and hard.

“Yeah, me too,” he nodded and ran a hand through his messy hair. “We should retry that sometime.”

“I like that idea.”

More silence.

“This was probably the best birthday I’ve had in a really long time,” Edward opened his mouth again, not being able to resist saying what had been going on inside his head for the past half an hour. Oswald looked surprised.

“Even better than when we dyed your hair green on freshman year, and you had to use a whole bottle of shampoo to get it off?” They laughed in unison, and for some reason it gave Ed an odd amount of courage. He reached over and grabbed Oswald’s hand, squeezing tightly.

“I’m so glad to have a best friend like you, Ozzie,” he said in a sincere tone. Oswald’s face flushed a little and he nodded, returning the hand squeeze.

“Same,” he muttered and closed his eyes. “G’night, Eddie.”

“Good night,” Ed said and smiled even though Oswald couldn’t see it. He closed his own eyes and started slowly thrifting into sleep, unable to swipe the blissful expression from his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohhhh the tables are turning ;);));))));));))));););;;)


	8. love will never die, die, die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the wholesomeness continues uwu

_1998, April 27th_

The last couple of months of school during one’s senior year were probably the most useless weeks in one’s life. Oswald couldn’t remember the last time he’d done actual schoolwork, besides occasionally studying for the finals with Edward. He had no high hopes for his final exams; he already knew he wasn’t going to college – the local community college at best – but Edward was adamant on studying to the very end.

Oswald took a drag of his cigarette and looked up at the grey sky. It wasn’t far from raining. With prom only a couple weeks away, he wasn’t sure if he wanted the clouds to disperse so everyone could have a nice time or wished for them to pour the water down non-stop on the prom night so the idiots would soak. He had already decided he was not going. Well, maybe for a little bit just to get drunk and leave, but he definitely didn’t have a partner. Who the hell would he ask out? Ed was all over like six different girls, desperately trying to find a gal pal, Jim was dating, and Zsasz was going with Ivy even though their romance hadn’t lasted since last year.

“So you’re going with Lee, huh?” he vocalized his thoughts and glanced at James who was leaning against the railing next to him, also a cigarette between his lips. He looked at Oswald, momentarily confused by what he’d said, but he realized quickly Oswald was talking about prom.

“Obviously,” Jim said hastily. “Who else?”

“Well, I don’t know, Jim,” Oswald grinned slyly. “You’ve had so many chicks over the course of high school. Hard to keep track of all of ‘em.”

“I’ve had three girlfriends, Oswald. That’s not many.”

“I could’ve sworn it’s more! Let’s count. Barbara, that didn’t last. You made her lesbian.” Jim rolled his eyes in annoyance and inhaled more nicotine. “You had a fling with that Asian girl, right? I don’t even remember her name. Vanessa? Valentia?”

“Valerie,” Jim corrected. “We dated for two months. Now shut up.”

“Then there’s of course our lovely Leslie Thompkins,” Oswald continued as if Jim was merely a fly buzzing in the ceiling. “Definitely your best catch. Smart, snarky. Taller than you. I’m pretty sure Ed had a crush on her at some point last year. You snatched her, I owe you one for that.”

“Let’s talk about _your_ love life, Oswald,” Jim cut him off and gave a shit-eating smile. “Oh, never mind. That would be a very short conversation.”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Oswald warned Jim with a glare. The blonde’s self-righteous smile didn’t falter.

“Things still dry with Nashton?”

“Obviously,” Oswald imitated the irritated tone of Jim’s voice from earlier. However, his annoyed face switched suddenly, and he slammed his free hand on the railing. “Sofia Falcone!”

“What about her?” Jim asked, visibly deflating.

“I knew there was someone I forgot! You dated her, too! That makes four,” Oswald laughed victoriously and poked Jim on the waist. “Player.”

“This conversation is over,” Jim announced and put his cigarette out by pressing it against the rail. He threw it on the floor of the school terrace and stomped on it just in case.

“Hey,” Oswald said and grabbed Jim by the arm, permitting him from leaving. “I’ll vote on you for Prom King,” he said and winked.

“I heard Tom Dougherty is convinced he’s gonna snatch that,” Jim said and brushed Oswald’s hand off.

“One more reason to vote Jimbo, then,” Oswald grinned and waved after Jim who started walking towards the door to get back inside. Just as Jim’s hand touched the doorknob, it turned, and someone rushed out the door so fast he almost knocked Jim over.

“Woah there!”

“Oh, James! I’m sorry,” Ed said and raised his eyes from the ground. His cheeks were red and neither Jim nor Oswald could tell if it was from embarrassment of the fact that he’d been running.

“All good,” Jim waved his hand in a dismissive manner and pat Ed on the shoulder quickly before shooting one last look to Oswald and leaving the scene.

“So, where’re you comin’ from in such a hurry?” Oswald asked and leaned against the railing with his butt, looking at Edward with cigarette in hand. Ed sighed long and hard and stepped closer to Oswald. He looked visibly upset, fidgeting with his sleeve anxiously. “Hey? What’s up?” Oswald asked another question and threw the rest of his smoke into the bushes after stumping it on the rail. He knew Ed didn’t like the smell of cigarettes.

“I asked Kristen Kringle to go to prom with me,” Edward revealed. Oswald’s eyes widened.

“How’d that go?” he questioned.

“Make a guess,” Ed sighed and shook his head. “She looked like I had slapped her.”

“Ouch,” Oswald muttered, but couldn’t help the little feeling inside of him; pure joy for the fact that Ed hadn’t gotten a date. Was it rude? Wasn’t he supposed to root for his best friend? “You gotta be honest with yourself, Ed. She’s popular and pretty. Nothing like you.” He grinned a bit. “I mean, you _are_ pretty, but that’s only half of the requirements.”

“Wow, thanks,” Ed rolled his eyes and slumped against the railing, running a hand through his hair. The damp air had made it curl up again. Oswald used the upsetting situation as an excuse to ruffle Ed’s hair.

“She said she’s going with Dougherty,” Ed spat out in annoyance. “What does she see in that jock?”

“Maybe he’s got a big dick,” Oswald suggested. “Ugh. Now I’m imagining Dougherty’s dick. Ew.”

“He emanates ‘I’ve got herpes’,” Edward said. Oswald cackled and nodded in agreeance.

“You deserve better than Kringle,” he said quietly, but obviously Ed caught it.

“Is there anyone better?” he asked and frowned. “I already asked Lee because we study together sometimes. She turned me down but was kind about it. She’s going with Jim. Should have seen that coming. And I asked Isabella, but she said she’d be working that evening. It was probably just an excuse.”

“Jeez, I hope you didn’t tell Kristen she was the third girl you asked. That just sounds like she’s the last resort,” Oswald said.

“Lee and Isabella were more like... practice. Third time’s the charm, they say.” Ed pouted. “They’re _wrong_.”

“So neither of us got a date, then,” Oswald concluded and tilted his head. Ed just looked at him with a hint of melancholy. Then, an idea entered his mind. “Hey! We should go together!”

“What?” Ed yelped, immediately going beef red in the face. “We- we can’t go together!”

“Why not? A lot of best friends go together?”

“We’re both men!”

“You’re tellin’ me you’ve been supporting my queer ass for half a decade and _now_ you turn homophobic?” Oswald asked with a lazy grin. Ed sputtered, but clearly couldn’t come up with anything reasonable to say.

“Come on, it’d just be a joke,” Oswald said, even though the sentence pulled on his heartstrings. _It was not a joke_. “We can just go, steal some booze when no one’s looking and leave.”

“Everyone would stare,” Ed muttered. Oswald rolled his eyes.

“No one gives a shit. You know what prom is for?” he asked and continued before Ed could answer. “Underage drinking. Fights. Ruined relationships. Bruised knees.”

“Bruised knees?” Ed furrowed his brows, before he realized what Oswald was initiating. “Right. Blowjobs.”

“We could have dumb matching outfits or something! Like suits with purple and green and stuff?” Oswald pressed on. He was not going to give up if there was even a slither of chance of him taking Edward Nashton himself to prom.

“That... does sound kinda fun,” Ed admitted slowly.

“We can go on a play date before the big day,” Oswald grinned. “My treat. The Chinese place downtown.”

“Your treat?” Ed asked and grinned for the first time. “You have like two dollars warming your pockets, Ozzie.”

“I might break open my secret stash just for you, _date_ ,” Oswald winked.

“Alright, alright. You’ve convinced me,” Ed raised his hands in mock surrender and straightened his back. “Should we redo your purple highlights for it?”

“Oh fuck, I’m gonna dye your hair green again.”

“ _No!_ ”

“One strand, pretty pleaaaaase?” Oswald pleaded, giving his best puppy eyes.

Ed exhaled slowly. “One strand.”

It was settled then. Oswald was going to prom with Edward. They had a game plan. In reality, both of them could have easily shown up solo and simply hung around the party in a depressing manner, but something in Oswald told him that this was a chance for... something. Even if it was just a joke in Edward’s eyes, maybe a way to get back at the girls who turned him down, to Oswald it was a big deal. It wasn’t a secret to him or those around him anymore that he was crushing on Edward. But Ed was as straight as they came. It was probably a lost cause, but Oswald didn’t want to give up yet.

When the school week was over – Ed didn’t want to distract himself from studying during the weekdays, making Oswald groan in disbelief – Oswald kept his promise on treating Edward. They met up in the best Chinese restaurant in downtown Gotham. Oswald had even booked a table for them the day before just in-case. On Saturday at seven pm Oswald found himself standing in the rain waiting for his “date”.

Ed showed up at 7pm sharp. His father dropped him off in front of the restaurant and Oswald could hear him shout something about Ed having to take a cab home because “he wasn’t going to waste his goddamn time,” but Ed slammed the door on his face and rushed across the pavement to Oswald. They had made a deal that they would treat this as an actual date, as if there was mutual romantic interest. Ed had taken it a step further and showed up in a fairly expensive-looking suit. Oswald suddenly felt awfully underdressed in his leather jacket, but he just gave Ed a wide smile and gestured him to follow.

“What did you say to your dad to get him out the house like that?” Oswald asked as they entered the restaurant.

Edward smiled slyly. “Said I had a date. Not a lie, right?”

Oswald almost walked into a wall for not getting his eyes off Ed’s face. He really thought he was mostly over Ed by this point, but clearly his heart was betraying him once again.

A waiter guided them into a small corner booth, dimly lit with paper lanterns. Oswald threw his jacket on the seat and sat down, immediately grabbing the menu on the table. “Don’t break my balls, but do get something nice,” he instructed Edward and handed him the menu.

Edward took the menu and observed it. His ears were heating up, but he decided to pretend he was simply feeling warm because of the heat the lights provided. He put the menu on the table in order to slither out of his jacket. “Mmm... Maybe some chow mein?” he suggested and looked up at Oswald. Oswald’s smile and nod were enough of a confirmation. Ed also opted for some lemonade. Oswald called the waiter over and recapped their order.

“Aaand one bottle of the finest wine you’ve got,” he finished with a grin. Ed furrowed his brows and leaned closer to Oswald.

“You’re only eighteen?” he whispered.

“May I have ID, sir?” the waiter asked, seemingly in the same mindset as Edward. Oswald pulled a pen out of his pocket and scribbled something on a napkin. Ed realized it was a phone number. Oswald handed the number to the waiter with a smug smile.

“Call that. There is my confirmation,” Oswald said. The waiter looked dumbfounded. “Well, come on! Get a move on, dude,” Oswald snapped when he did nothing to move. The man rushed away, and Ed looked at Oswald in utter confusion.

“What was that?”

“I have connections,” Oswald said mysteriously. “I know the woman who owns this place. Do some odd jobs for her sometimes. That was her number.”

“Huh,” Ed said. “Aren’t you a sly one? Color me impressed.” Oswald couldn’t help but smile blissfully at the praise.

“Is this the part where we start awkwardly talking about ourselves?” Oswald asked and crossed his fingers under his chin. Edward laughed.

“Don’t ask me. I’ve never been on a ‘date’,” he said and giggled into his hand.

“Maybe that explains your awful luck in the relationship pool,” Oswald said and snickered. “How’s about you flirt with me and I tell you everything you do wrong?”

Edward blushed radically. “Flirt with you?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Oswald smirked. “Got any pick-up lines, Eddie?”

“Pick-up lines? Nope. Bad science puns, yes,” Ed said and smiled sheepishly.

“Pick one I haven’t heard and one that doesn’t make me wanna rip your head off,” Oswald ordered and leaned forward observantly.

“Hmm,” Ed hummed and thought for a second. “Are you made of Copper and Tellurium?”

“Noooo? Why?” Oswald grinned from ear to ear.

“Because you are Cu-Te,” Ed said and looked incredibly proud of himself. Oswald stared at him for a second and burst into laughter.

“That was terrible!” he cackled.

“Was not! I came up with that on the spot!” Ed squealed and slapped Oswald on the head with the menu.

“You said you didn’t have a pick-up line! You can’t just call a man cute out of nowhere,” Oswald snorted and snatched the menu away from Ed’s hands. “Please don’t tell me you’ve ever used anything like that on a woman.”

“I haven’t, actually,” Ed said, much to Oswald’s relief.

“That actually reminded me of one I read somewhere a while back,” Oswald said. “I stored it in my brain because I wanted to tell it to you, but I forgot.”

“Aww, you keep stuff in mind just for me?” Edward asked with a teasing smile. Oswald brushed it off with a laugh, because he didn’t want Ed to realize he wasn’t joking. He constantly saw things causing his brain to go “hey, Ed would like that”. It was a real problem.

“Are you made of Nickel, Cerium, Arsenic and Sulfur?” Oswald asked, praying he remembered the correct elements. “Because you’ve got-“

“Hold up, don’t tell me the answer yet,” Ed raised his hand, interrupting Oswald. Oswald deflated; _of course_ Edward was the type of person to actually try and figure out the answer to a pick-up like. It was practically a riddle, and Ed was all about those.

“Nickel is Ni, Cerium Ce, obviously. That makes ‘nice’,” Ed vocalized his thought process. “Arsenic is actually As instead of Ar, I always used to get that mixed up. And Sulfur...” Suddenly, his face got beef red and he covered his face with his hands.

“Nice ass.”

Oswald laughed so hard the whole restaurant could probably hear him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two more chapters to go! thank you so much for all the kind comments. even though i rarely respond to any, i read all of them and they encourage me to keep on going, so thanks a bunch <3


	9. i hope to see you again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i meant to post this on wednesday, then on friday, and now it's sunday and it is finally up!! it took much longer than i expected because usually my chapters are about 2.5k words while this was over 4000!  
> the next chapter will be the finale - i can't believe it's almost over! now i think is a good time to remind y'all that my friend @missymisery is working on the SEQUEL for this fic and it will hopefully start updating shortly after chapter 10 comes out! please look forward to it and give her all the same love you've given me so far <3
> 
> side note; slight racist language in this chapter, nothing major, but thought i'd mention it!

_1998, May 19th_

Oswald couldn’t help but cringe when he pulled the suit jacket over his white dress shirt. The fabric felt suffocating in the spring warmth and clung against his skinny arms uncomfortably. Edward had tried his best to buy a suit what fit his obscure build, but it was simply impossible to find anything that fit Oswald well. The sleeves of his jacket were a little too long and his pants required a belt. Still, he had no choice but to wear it. Ed had spent so much money on this high-quality outfit that it would have been a robbery to leave it in his closet and show up in a pair of ripped jeans and a hoodie or something.

He looked at his reflection in the mirror on his wall. He looked like a vampire, but not like Tom Cruise in Interview With A Vampire – more like the type that lived under a bridge and lived off of the blood of rats. He tightened his tie a little and tried to smoothen out the wrinkles in the expensive suit. Ed had gone with the accent color of purple for the suit, and it was visible in the cufflinks as well as some detailing around the collar. It wasn’t a bad look, but Oswald just didn’t rock it. He reached for a pair of chains on his bedside table and attacked them to his belt, immediately feeling more like himself. He swiped his hair back and watched the purple highlights glimmer in the light. That was nice.

He heard honking from outside the house and looked out of the window; the cab he had dialled a moment ago had arrived and was waiting for him. He gave one last look at the mirror, checked his mascara and left his room. As soon as he sauntered downstairs, his mother was there to fuss. “My boy is so handsome!” Gertrud clapped when Oswald stepped down the last stair. He groaned when his mother embraced him tightly.

“Yeah, yeah. Cool. I get it,” he mumbled, patting her mother’s arm in order to make her loosen her grip. “I’m gonna be late. I have to go.”

“Do not stay late. No drinking, no drugs,” Gertrud said and looked at him firmly. “No hussies.”

“Mom, what makes you think I would do anything like that?” Oswald asked and pretended to be offended before grinning. “I only got one fella in mind and he ain’t no hussy, ma.”

“Edward will adore you.”

“Here’s hoping.”

Oswald grabbed his keys and put them in his pocket before saying goodbye and walking out the door. It was actually a rather nice evening – the rain had stopped a couple of days ago and the sun was setting behind the houses in the suburbs. He climbed inside the taxi and gave the address of Gotham High to the bored-looking driver, an older man with a thick beard. Oswald leaned back on the leather seat and closed his eyes for a moment. Just breathe, he told himself. He had no idea why he was so nervous. It was already clear that Ed was going to prom with him as _a joke_ , not seriously. He was not in love with Oswald. That was idiotic.

The memories of their “play date” clouded Oswald’s mind. It had been incredibly nice sitting in a dimly lit booth with Edward and crack jokes as pick-up lines, every single one worse than the previous. Some of them had actually gotten to him and caused him to genuinely blush, and he truly hoped Ed hadn’t noticed it. Yet somehow he felt like Ed had also looked quite red-faced back then... Maybe it had just been the lighting.

The cab rolled up to Gotham High’s parking lot and stopped with a silent screech. Oswald threw a crumpled-up 20 dollar bill to the driver before climbing out of the car and slamming the door behind him. He scanned the parking lot area with his sharp eyes. Ed was nowhere to be seen, but there were quite a few other students hanging around their vehicles, chatting or waiting for their friends or dates. The student council had taken it upon themselves to decorate the entire school inside and out for the event, which became very clear to Oswald as soon as he started walking towards the front doors. A huge banner with _GOTHAM HIGH PROM ’98_ was suspended over the stairs leading to the main entrance. Pretty girls in pretty dresses were all around the front yard, some of which were forcing their friends to take photos of them and their dates or something. Oswald rolled his eyes – people got so fussy over one night.

But then he saw Edward standing at the bottom of the stairs and suddenly he understood why people got so overly excited about prom. He looked stunning in the actually well-fitted suit. It hugged his lean body in all the right places and Oswald had to restrain himself from running right in his arms when he saw him. Had Ed always had such a nice waist? Ed noticed him ogling at him and waved with a wide smile. He had finally gotten his braces removed a couple months ago and his smile was so pristine it could’ve blinded a man.

“Hey!” Oswald said slightly too enthusiastically upon arriving in front of Ed. “Aren’t you dapper? I told you the green was a good idea.” He pointed at the little green stripe in Ed’s curls.

“You cut quite the fine figure yourself,” Edward grinned and extended his arm. “Shall we?”

Oswald looked at the arm for a moment like an idiot before realizing Ed was expecting them to walk in lockstep. “You’re gonna take this prom date thing seriously, huh?” he joked and laced their arms together.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing, isn’t it?” Edward said as they started marching up the stairs.

“I guess? I mean, we passed on homecoming and all,” Oswald shrugged. They arrived at the top of the stairs when a shout of their names startled both of them. Oswald whipped around and saw Victor running across the yard, Ivy in tow. The baldie was wearing a slim black suit, which looked so out of place on him; usually Zsasz either went with all black and baggy or full rainbow. He also had a pair of sunglasses on his face despite the sun already starting to set. Ivy had a pretty knee-length dress with a floral pattern – not as fancy as the princess ballgowns of some other girls, but it suited her carefree and natural style well. The butterfly hairclips in her hair were a cute addition.

“Woooah, look at you bein’ all couple-y!” Victor yelled, striding up the stairs three at the same time.

“Aww, you’re matching! That’s so adorable, you guys,” Ivy tuned in and tilted her head with a wide smile.

“Shut up,” Oswald groaned and let go of Edward’s arm. “You look like you escaped from Men in Black.”

“That’s what I said too!” Ivy said and snatched Victor’s glasses off. “You don’t look cool.”

They made their way inside the building, still bickering about the sunglasses. Ed was silently following the conversation; he had enough to think about without talking since Oswald had absent-mindedly grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together when they walked through the doors. The school looked just as decorated on the inside as it did outside, and the loud music was audible even when they were a full corridor away from the banquet hall.

The prom in Gotham High was slightly different than one’s usual prom. It was fully constructed by the student council and the teachers had close to nothing to do with it, so instead of the boring classy dances and fancy dinners, it was much closer to a disco. Victor rushed away from them as soon as they arrived in the dimly lit banquet hall, dragging the laughing Ivy with him towards the dancefloor. Oswald glanced around himself, furrowing his brows at the obnoxious pop music.

“Are you upset it’s not Slipknot?” Ed asked when he noticed Oswald’s distasteful look.

“Are you upset it’s not Beethoven?” Oswald snapped back, grinning benevolently. “Come on. Let’s go eat something.”

“I’m surprised there’s something more than breadsticks,” Edward commented upon arriving in front of the buffet tables.

“What is it with you and breadsticks?” Oswald asked, already grabbing a paper plate and eyeing the tables hungrily.

“I just don’t like them, okay?” Ed mumbled, also taking a plate for himself. Oswald started piling food on his plate – most of it was finger food like meatballs and sausages on cocktail sticks or garlic bread. Apparently if you wanted something more filling you had to pay $5 to access the dishes.

“Free food is the only reason I’m here and then I can’t even enjoy that,” Oswald scoffed, ogling at the sign under his nose.

“You say with a full plate,” Ed smirked and stole a cocktail stick off Oswald’s plate.

They scooted over to the lounging area to snack on their plates. The student council had done a pretty good job organizing everything; the dancefloor and the DJ were far enough away from the sofas and beanbags, and the food was placed in-between the two areas. Oswald destroyed his plate in less than fifteen minutes and started stalking Ed’s plate in hopes for a mouthful.

“I see you’re in your element, Oswald.”

Oswald turned his head and looked at the source of the voice behind the sofa. “Hello, Jim,” he greeted with a lazy grin and looked him up and down. A classy dark blue suit that went really well with his eyes, and the bushy blonde hair pushed back with enough gel to survive in a tornado. Next to him, arms interweaved, stood Lee in a slim-fitted baby blue dress. Her hair was down and framed her pretentious smile perfectly.

“You two look amazing,” Ed said, having also turned around. He wasn’t wrong.

“Thank you, Ed,” Lee said with a more genuine smile. “I have to give you two snaps for the hair.”

“How’s the Prom King on this fine evening?” Oswald asked, ignoring Lee’s compliment which in turn made Ed smile goofily. “And queen. Sorry, hun. I ain’t sexist.”

“I’m not King yet,” Jim said, but couldn’t help his sly smile. “Speakin’ of which, Dougherty’s been talking about it all evening, apparently.”

“He’s delusional if he thinks he deserves that title,” Edward said bitterly, smile automatically fading upon the mention of Tom.

“I don’t think you have to worry,” Lee said. “I’ve been asking around and haven’t heard of anyone voting for him. It’s sad, really.”

“Oh fuck, speak of the devil,” Oswald interrupted their conversation by glancing behind Jim and Lee. There, in a small group, stood Dougherty with Kristen Kringle next to him. She looked incredibly uncomfortable in the group of jocks, Tom’s big hand sprawled across her ass. Lee looked around her shoulder, saw what he had seen and furrowed her brows.

“Be right back,” she said, pecked Jim on the cheek and walked to Kristen. Jim leaned against the sofa Oswald and Ed were sitting on and took a sip of the champagne he was holding.

“You, where’d you get alcohol?” Oswald asked and immediately reached for the glass. Jim dodged his hand and backed away.

“They’re selling mocktails in the bar. There’s barely any percentage in this,” Jim said and nodded towards the opposite end of the hall.

“Bar?!” Oswald jumped up from the couch and threw his empty plate on the floor. He started making his way through the crowds without saying a word to Ed.

Edward stood up, too, and awkwardly idled in place before saying goodbye to Jim and hurrying after Oswald in order to not lose him. Unfortunately, Oswald was small and fast and had already slipped through the buffet tables and onto the dancefloor. A flicker of dark hair was the last thing Ed saw before Oswald was devoured by the dancing mass of teenagers. Even the benefit of being taller than average didn’t help Ed on his quest to locate Oswald.

At that moment, being alone in the masses of loud students, Edward couldn’t help but get the sense of dread when his anxiety started to settle in. He’d never been a fan of crowds, and for some reason being surrounded by people he _knew_ was even worse than being in the middle of strangers. Someone pushed him out of the way in their haste to get to the dancefloor, like he was a piece of furniture. Ed wanted to shout after the rude guy, but the words died in his throat. With a deep frown on his face and his heart beating in his ears, he began scrambling towards the exit.

In the meanwhile, Oswald arrived at the opposite end of the banquet hall and saw the bar Jim had been talking about. He took a seat on one of the barstools and pondered how this had gone through with the authorities. Then again, none of the teachers at Gotham High truly cared about their students or their well-being. Zsasz was standing on the other side of the bar, mixing a mocktail.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this, dude?” Oswald asked when he turned around and saw the familiar face staring back at him.

“Oh I’m just subtitutin’,” Victor said and grabbed a glass. “I’m pretty sure Tabby’s actually in charge but she wanted to go suckle with Babs, so I took the reins. Want something?”

“Is there any actual booze?”

“Afraid not,” Zsasz said while pouring the obnoxiously green liquid into the glass on the counter. He slid it to Ivy who was sitting on the counter and applying lipstick.

“Oh god, Backstreet Boys _again_?” Oswald groaned when the song in the background shuffled. “Why didn’t you apply to be the DJ, Zsasz?”

“I wanted to dance with my chica,” Victor grinned.

“You ain’t doin’ a whole lot of dancing right now.”

“We’re just chillin’ right now.”

“Can I have, um, somethin’ with Coke?” Oswald gave in after ogling the menu above Victor’s head for a moment.

“You got cheddar?” Zsasz leaned against the counter and peeked underneath it to find the materials. Oswald reached into his pockets and pulled out everything he had. His keys, the Nokia 5110 that took up most of his jacket’s pocket, and a few coins.

“Like five bucks maybe?” Oswald said, counting the coins.

“Cha-ching,” Zsasz presented a drink he had mixed in record time, “aaaand yoink!” and snatched half of the coins from the counter. “Actually, they’re s’posed to be free but I ain’t a slave. I’m gonna get that coin.”

“Brutal,” Ivy giggled when she saw Oswald’s flabbergasted face. “By the way, Ozzie, you seen Eddie?”

Oswald looked at Ivy like she was dumb, but only then realized that Ed was in fact not sitting next to him on the bar stools. He turned to look over his shoulder into the mass of dancing teens. Ed was nowhere to be seen. “The hell...?”

“Maybe he had to take a shit or somethin’?” Victor offered helpfully. Oswald turned back around and shrugged.

“Maybe.”

Within the next hour or so – Oswald didn’t have a watch and he pretty much lost the track of time – Oswald had started to thoroughly enjoy himself. Tabitha had returned to her bartending duties with Barbara in tow, and it had been obvious they’d been making out. Tabitha had snuck in some actually alcoholic beverages, mainly terrible beer, and the group had spent a good while just shit-talking and drinking. After the drinks had been downed, Victor insisted on dancing and dragged Oswald on the dancefloor with him. Ivy had complained about her high heels being awful for dancing and stayed behind with the other girls.

“I’m dying, dude,” Oswald said after _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ had switched to _Rhythm Is A Dancer_. He grabbed Victor’s shoulder in order to not fall over. “Feel like I’m gonna puke.”

“Such a buzzkill!” Zsasz whined, holding Oswald up. “You had like two beers! You tellin’ be you’re drunk?”

“I ain’t made for moshin’, bro,” Oswald said, tapping out. At the same moment, the background music started to fade out until it was merely a tiny buzz. Victor looked momentarily appalled, but the spotlight in the ceiling shifted towards the small stage that had been routed in the hall.

“Everyone!” Barbara Kean’s voice echoed loudly in the room thanks to a microphone. Her skimpy dress blinded everyone nearest to the stage when the spotlight hit the disco ball -like fabric. “Thank you _so_ much for coming along today! It’s been such a wicked evening so far, hasn’t it?!”

The crowd cheered upon their favourite senior year blonde. “I know right? Don’t wig out quite yet, though, ‘cause the best is yet to come!” Barbara pulled an envelope from behind her back and presented it with a flourish. “Y’all know what’s in here, don’t ya!”

“I forgot about the Prom King thingy,” Victor said to Oswald who was trying his best to stay sharp and look at Barbara.

“Yes! It’s time to reveal the Prom King and Queen of Gotham High!” Barbara shook the envelope excitedly. “I mean, we all know I woulda won if I actually had a king by my side,” she snickered and winked towards the front row where Tabitha was undoubtedly standing. She snuck the microphone in-between her breasts – Oswald could’ve sworn there was a unified gasp from half the guys in the room – in order to rip the envelope open. Everyone was staring at her when she carefully unfolded the pink paper and looked at the results. Her painted mouth stretched into a wicked grin when she looked up from the paper.

“Ladies and gents,” she said and cleared her throat with a huge smile. “I am thoroughly honoured to announce that, surprising literally nobody, the Prom King and Queen of 1998 in Gotham High are... James Gordon and Leslie Thompkins!”

It was like a volcano had erupted inside the banquet hall when the screams and claps made their way through the room. Oswald couldn’t help but grin when he clapped, watching as the flustered Jim made his way on the stage, Lee not far behind.

“Can you believe it, Jim? If you hadn’t broken my heart maybe it’d be just the two of us standin’ here right now!” Barbara said and cackled loudly – most of the crowd tuned in, making Jim look utterly uncomfortable. Lee stole the mic from Barbara’s claws before she could say anything else.

“I want to thank everyone who thought of us for this position,” she said in her student council president voice. “It’s such an honor to carry this ro-“

“Bitch, you wellin’!” A shout emitted from the middle of the group and cut Lee’s speech off. Oswald reached to stand on his tiptoes just on time to see none other than Tom Dougherty bursting through the crowd, dragging Kristen behind him. He looked ready to fight someone. “You’re fuckin’ wacked, bimbo! You tellin’ me _that_ won and my girlie didn’t?” He gestured angrily at Lee. Jim immediately stepped forward on the stage and glared down at Tom. Barbara grabbed his shoulder and stepped in-between the two guys.

“Would you like to elaborate on that, hun?” Barbara asked with the fakest smile known to man and reached over to point the mic towards Dougherty.

“Oh, _please!_ What does that wetback got that Krissy don’t?” he said obnoxiously loud into the microphone. His usually annoying voice was even worse now that he sounded intoxicated. God knows where he’d gotten alcohol. Oswald had progressively scooted closer and closer to the front of the stage, Victor peeking over his shoulder, to get a better view of the scene before them.

Dougherty inhaled in order to go on a tirade, but didn’t get the chance to, because at that moment everything fell into chaos. Jim pushed Barbara aside and almost pulled her strapless dress down in the process. Then, before anyone could move a muscle, he already jumped off the stage and plummeted on top of Dougherty. In fact, he full-on body-slammed Dougherty to the ground. They both fell down, Jim on top of Tom. When Tom fell, he managed to successfully whack Kristen right across the face and caused her glasses to shatter on the ground. Barbara squealed and chucked the envelope on the floor. Lee looked positively horrified and seemed to be contemplating whether to jump down and rip Jim away from Tom or go comfort Kristen who had just burst into tears.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Zsasz shouted in Oswald’s ear as loud as he could. Fast, the chant spread around them and half the hall was soon screaming for Jim to beat the hell out of Tom.

“Don’t. Ever. Talk. About. Lee. Like. That,” Jim growled and enhanced every single word with a punch to Dougherty’s face or anywhere his hands happened to reach. It was clear that Tom was all talk and no show, because he was squirming beneath the shorter man like a pathetic child, still shouting obscenities but also clearly trying to get away.

“Kristen!” Lee yelled after the girl who had turned on her heels and busted through the crowd towards the exit. Lee ran after Kristen and Oswald grabbed Zsasz by the arm, interrupting his chanting.

“C’mon. Let’s bounce,” he said.

“Nah, dude, this is gold!” Zsasz said and shook Oswald’s hand off his arm. “You go. I’ll call ya later and tell what happened. Coolio?”

“Sure,” Oswald nodded and let go of him. He gave one last look at Jim, whose lip Tom had just busted open, and started making his way out of the room.

While all of the obscenities had gone down in the banquet hall, Edward found himself sitting outside on the stairs and trying to soothe his nerves. He had no earthly idea how long it had been since he left the room, but it felt like an eternity. Oswald hadn’t come looking for him, and for some reason that made him feel even worse. Oswald really didn’t care that much about him, did he? Something in him had momentarily thought that Oswald perhaps had feelings for him – feelings other than friendship, might he add – but that had been such a delusional fantasy. Why was he even so upset over it? Pouting, he took another sip of the champagne that had been handed to him when he was rushing out of the hall earlier on.

He almost choked on the drink when someone came hurling through the front doors and almost fell right on his arms. He screamed and scooted aside when the girl tiptoed on the edge of the steps and nearly fell on her face. Only then did he recognize her as Kristen Kringle. She looked distraught, loose hairs flying out of her hairdo and makeup running down her face. Edward immediately shot up from the stairs and steadied the sobbing girl.

“S-sorry, I didn’t... I didn’t see you...,” Kristen mumbled and rubbed her face with her hand.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Edward spurted out in minor panic. Kristen was the type of girl who never showed emotions to anyone, the type of girl who never cried and always stood up for herself. But she looked so upset and heartbroken all of sudden.

“I’m fine,” she said and hiccupped, slumping on the stairs and burying her face in her knees. Ed wasn’t sure what to do. Did she want company or not? He ended up sitting back down and carefully moving closer to her inch by inch until their shoulders were brushing against each other. He took a leap of faith and wrapped an arm gently around Kristen.

“What happened?” he asked quietly and tried to lean down to see her face.

“T-Tom...,” she murmured, “Tom is a fuckin’ idiot!” She raised her teary face and looked at Ed angrily. It appeared as her sadness was quickly turning to fury. “He is such a dickhead! You shoulda heard what he said to Lee!”

“I can only imagine.” Ed was amazed by the fact that, of all people, Kristen Kringle had dropped the F-bomb so nonchalantly.

“Ed, I’m sorry I turned you down,” she said suddenly and sniffled. Ed looked at her, dumbfounded by the sentiment. “I think I would’ve had a much better time with you as my prom date. And I feel like I’ve been so mean to you altogether. For no reason.”

“I-It’s. Um, it’s alright?” Ed said, still confused beyond belief. “You don’t have to apologize.”

“Yeah, I _do_ ,” Kristen said and bit her lip. “You’re one of the kindest dudes I know. I hope we can be friends in the future.” There was a small pause, and she blushed. “Really. I mean it. I’m, I’m not makin’ fun of you.”

Ed smiled sheepishly. “I think I’d really like that.”

“I think I should go back...,” Kristen said after they had sat down in silence for a couple minutes, just watching the last rays of the sunset. “Lee’s probably looking for me. Izzy too, maybe.”

“Tell them hi from me if you see them,” Edward smiled. Kristen stood up, prompting Ed to do the same, and they idled on the stairs for a moment before Kristen ruffled her hair awkwardly and touched Ed’s arm before turning around and walking back inside.

Oswald arrived on the front doors right when Kristen stepped back inside. He was going to say something to the girl, but noticed Ed standing further back and all thoughts escaped his mind immediately. “Hey!” he exclaimed and rushed past Kristen. “Jeez, dude, where were you? You just disappeared!”

“Ah, sorry,” Ed said and scratched his neck, looking embarrassed. “I just... got a little anxious. Or a lot anxious. Needed fresh air and stuff.”

“Oh,” Oswald said, face softening. “Sorry I didn’t come lookin’ for you. Thought you might’ve dipped altogether.”

“It’s all good. I hope you had a good time.”

“Oh, betcha. I’m gonna tell you alllll about it,” Oswald said and gave Ed his signature grin. He grabbed Edward by the hand and nodded towards the yard. “Let’s roll?”

“Sure you don’t wanna go back in?” Ed asked, biting his bottom lip with uncertainty in his voice.

“Positive,” Oswald confirmed. “Let’s crash at my place, yeah?”

Ed smiled. “Yeah.”


	10. shinin' light upon your ground

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DID IT!! I FINISHED AT LAST!!!!!  
> i hope you have fun reading the finale. took it nice and calm with this one, and we finally are gettin some action up in here...
> 
> now i believe is a good time to remind you guys that this is NOT the end of the AU! @missymisery is working on the second part of the series, a sequel to this story, and it should be coming out very soon! i will make this work as a part of a series so you guys can have easy access to check it out :) please give her the same support as you've given me! <3

_1998, May 19th_

Since neither of them had any money to spare, they had no other choice but walk to Oswald’s. It barely bothered them, though; the night was beautiful. The very last rays of the sunsets were visible behind the houses, and they made everything appear red. Some stars had begun appearing onto the sky, too, and their combined effort made the whole scenery appear almost magical. The air was still, but not agonising. Just the lightest of breezes ran across their faces every once in a while.

Oswald and Ed walked in silence. Every once in a while Oswald stumbled a little, even though he had already tossed his final can of beer away when they left the school premises. Ed’s class of champagne had also been left behind.

“Do you think tonight was a success?” Edward broke the silence when they did a turn at an intersection and entered Oswald’s home street.

“Let’s think,” Oswald said and leaned against Ed’s shoulder. “The positives: I got booze. Jim won Prom King. Dougherty got his teeth kicked in-“

“Wait, _what_ exactly happened when I was outside?” Edward asked and stopped on his tracks. Oswald, who’d been supporting himself against Edward’s lean body, swayed a little before steadying himself. “Who fought Dougherty? Is that why Kristen was crying?”

Oswald spent the remaining way to his house recapping the events of the banquet hall. Edward was flabbergasted to say the least.

“So you’re telling me Dougherty called Lee a racial slur and James went ahead, and body slammed him to the floor?” he confirmed as they arrived on the yard.

“Yup,” Oswald said and nodded. He looked at his home for a second before turning back to Ed and gesturing towards the roof. “You think we could climb there and not die in the process?” he asked with a broad grin.

“I probably could, but you’re drunk,” Edward said and smiled pitifully.

“I’ll climb first and you catch me if I fall,” Oswald decided and pat Edward on the shoulder for no reason in particular other than he just felt like touching him. Edward tried to argue, but Oswald was already halfway across the yard, looking for a ladder.

“This is a terrible idea,” Edward muttered when he watched Oswald locate the ladder on the side of the building.

“We good!” Oswald yelled and waved Ed over.

It was truly a miracle that Oswald didn’t fall to his death – or any broken bones or a concussion for that matter – during his climb. Edward stayed as close behind him as possible and was ready to catch him at any moment, even though he imagined it’d just end with both of them on the ground. Oswald sighed contently as he put his foot on the roof and looked around. It was ever so slightly slanted, but certainly not enough to fall off or anything.

He sat down in the middle of the roof and Ed followed the lead. Immediately, Oswald started taking off his suit jacket and groaned as he threw it further away from him. “No offense but I’m _never_ wearing that shit again,” he said and shuddered.

“None taken,” Ed smiled. He unbuttoned the first button of his shirt. It had started to get a little uncomfortable wearing so many layers near the end of March. Gotham wasn’t exactly known for its hot summers, but it was warm enough for Ed.

For a while Oswald blabbered on about whatever came into his mind. He detailed how Jim had probably broken Tom Dougherty’s nose, how Kristen’s glasses had brutally shattered on the ground, how Barbara had “stuck the microphone between her titties”. That part Edward didn’t find particularly interesting, but it was just nice to listen to Oswald monologue. Ed didn’t have much to say. He nodded and smiled occasionally but was quiet for the most part.

Eventually, Oswald ran out of things to say and they fell into serenity, silence. The distant hooting of an owl and the leaves shuttering in the trees were the only things breaking the tranquillity.

“Do you still remember those constellations we came up with on that camping trip?” Edward asked quietly, finally breaking the comfortable silence. His sixteenth birthday had popped into his mind all of sudden, and it was probably because of the stars that had starting to become more and more prominent as the sky turned from red to black. He looked over at Oswald who was staring at the sky with hazy eyes. Oswald turned his pale eyes towards Ed and let out a small giggle.

“Of course,” he hummed and raised his hand towards the stars. “Gun. Riddle. Big Penguin.”

“Can you find them?” Ed looked back at the sky.

“Nope,” Oswald said and laughed. It rang in Edward’s ears like a bell.

“Maybe we can come up with new ones?” he suggested, leaning on his arm and stretching his long neck towards the stars. “I don’t even think I can find the Orion anymore.”

“What would an onion be doin’ in the sky?” Oswald asked and sounded genuinely distressed. Edward couldn’t help but burst out laughing. He flopped on his back and stretched his limbs out, still chuckling to himself. He looked up at Oswald, who stared at him both confused and amused. After a bit of thinking from Oswald, he also ended up laying down on the roof, next to Ed. He crossed his fingers across his skinny stomach and smiled to himself.

Edward wasn’t sure if he wanted to spend more time looking at the gorgeous night sky or at Oswald’s side profile. The prominent nose that had only gotten more crooked in the past couple years. The gorgeous raven hair and the purple highlights which the moonlight illuminated. His freckles weren’t visible this time, but the sheer knowledge that they were there was enough to make Ed happy. Oswald looked like a character from a storybook.

“ _I’m glad you forced me into this,”_ echoed Ed’s own voice at the back of his head. The little smile Oswald had given him at that moment still brought butterflies in Ed’s stomach.

“What’cha starin’?” Oswald startled Ed, who turned his head away in an instant. Oswald had spent a long moment just looking at the sky, well aware that Edward was more of less preoccupied with something completely different but had found out he enjoyed the attention. The admiration in Edward’s deep eyes was something he’d never seen in them before.

Oswald raised and leaned on his elbow. He grabbed Edward’s face and forced him to look at him in the eyes. “You were starin’ at me, Eddie,” Oswald said in a hushed tone and traced Edward’s jawline with his thumb. It had gotten more prominent in the past couple of years. He looked handsome to say the least.

“I believe I was, yes,” Edward said and averted his eyes. “Sorry about that.”

“I liked it,” Oswald said and smirked benevolently. “Do you wanna do it again?”

Edward did. God, he _really_ did, and he wanted nothing more than to do so and say it out loud. So he pulled his eyes back to Oswald’s face instead of the treetops peeking from the edge of the roof and just _looked_ at him. Oswald’s face was above his, covering the moon and therefore casting a shade that could have looked threatening if it was anyone else than Oswald. His pale eyes had turned dark and sensual, pupils enlarged abnormally big.

“Do you like it?” Oswald asked. His breath, smelling ever so slightly of alcohol and also, for some reason, peppermint, ghosted on Edward’s face.

“Like what?” Edward said, completely out of it.

“My face,” Oswald specified.

Edward nodded, almost bumping their noses together. “Very much.” Oswald snickered.

“Oswald?”

“Hmm?”

“What color are your eyes?” Edward whispered. “They’re green, right?”

Oswald’s lips twitched and he gave Ed a soft smile. “Green,” he said. “Mom swears they’re blue.”

“Green is my favorite color...” Ed breathed out.

Oswald hummed. “Yeah, I know.”

“My favorite color used to actually be brown,” Edward revealed and lifted his hand to brush Oswald’s face with his thumb. “My father liked green. That’s why my braces were that color. But...”

“But?” Oswald tilted his head, subconsciously leaning into Edward’s soft touch.

“But then I met you,” Ed said, and finally flushed red. It was quite miraculous his face hadn’t heated up earlier, to be completely honest. Oswald’s eyes widened a little and his pupils broadened even more if that physically possible.

Neither of them could quite figure out how, but the next second their lips were already touching. They brushed across one another gently, exploring the new sensation of having the other so close. Oswald’s _green_ eyes shuttered close and he pressed closer to Edward, pulling on the collar of his dress shirt to bring him closer. He wasn’t sure if it was his own heart pounding in his ears or Ed’s racing heartbeat. Perhaps they were as intertwined as their bodies were.

Edward felt like he was flying. He may have physically been laying down on the Kapelput family’s rooftop, but emotionally he was high up in the stars. He had no earthly idea who had pushed forward first, but he doubted it was him. No way would he have had the balls to lean in and go for a kiss. Oswald had always been the more daring one. He was the one drunk right now. In the back of Edward’s mind he couldn’t help but think; was this something serious or simply the result of the alcohol flowing in Oswald’s veins? He hoped and prayed for it to be the first option.

Oswald’s mind was going through the same thought process. Was this actually happening? Had Edward just kissed him? The brunette’s hand was still on Oswald’s cheek, caressing the skin ever so carefully. It was like Edward was scared of breaking him. Oswald’s hand sunk into Ed’s curly hair and he tugged on it gently. Not enough to hurt, just the right amount to feel good and warm and safe. His leg also wrapped around Ed’s body. He just wanted to touch him, feel him, _have_ him for this little moment.

When they _finally_ pulled apart after what simultaneously felt like a minute but also an hour, Oswald found himself sitting on Edward’s lap, sprawled across his legs carelessly. Edward was red-faced and panting quietly. Oswald pressed his forehead against Edward’s and took a deep breath himself. They were so incredibly close that were practically inhaling the same air particles. The warm wafts of air on Oswald’s face did not help calm his heart which currently was beating so aggressively he could’ve collapsed from cardiac arrest.

Edward’s brown eyes found Oswald’s green ones. He found comfort in them. They were so cold yet so inviting at the same time. Like a mysterious forest. Oswald didn’t even need to say anything to make Edward smile.

Slowly, their dopy smiles turned into small, awkward bursts of giggling. Oswald rolled off Edward and landed right next to him on the roof. They looked at one another for a long time, just taking in what had just happened. Oswald’s eyes widened the tiniest bit when Edward’s fingers wrapped around his hand. The surprised expression quickly switched to an incredibly content one, and Oswald smiled genuinely. Ed felt like bursting.

Edward didn’t know what else he could do in this situation. He just managed to take a hold of Oswald’s hand and started rubbing soft circles on his palm with his thumb. Oswald was tired, and it was obvious by the way his eyes started drooping close. Blinks turning into multiple seconds of resting his eyes. Finally, his eyes stayed closed and he no longer kept peeking underneath his eyelashes in order to look at Edward’s face. To look at the blessed smile sprawled across his angelic face.

Oswald fell asleep on the roof, and Edward had no heart to wake him up. He scooted as close as possible to the smaller boy and wrapped his arm around Oswald. The spring night was warm and clear. It wouldn’t do any harm to stay there overnight. He rolled on his side and tightened his grip of the sleeping boy. Even in his sleep, Oswald’s instinct was to do the same, and his fist curled up, grabbing a bunch of Edward’s suit jacket.

Gertrud Kapelput guessed his boy had gone to stay over at Edward’s that night. Her boy finally had his wish come true.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks missymisery for beta reading !!


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